Newsletter

Fall 2022

Wood County Prevention Coalition

MISSION

We are a coalition of compassionate community members working together to coordinate high quality programs for the prevention of youth substance abuse in Wood County.

VISION

Helping youth be drug-free, responsible, and productive citizens.

Mark Your Calendar

Mark your calendar for our next Wood County Prevention Coalition/Addiction Task Force meeting: Friday, December 9 at 9:00 a.m. This meeting will be held virtually (on Zoom).

Meeting notices including a Zoom link will be sent out, but please invite others to attend as well. Those not on our email distribution list should contact Tina Bradley at tbradley@wcesc.org to be added. All are welcome!

Download the 2023 WCPC Meeting Schedule

Drug-Free Communities Grant Updates

Year 9 of Wood County's Drug-Free Communities grant is officially underway--just as this gorgeous fall season unfolds. The current program year launched September 30, and it enables Wood County the continued ability to inform, connect, collaborate and educate in an effort to someday realize a drug-free community.

WCESC Prevention Education Director Kyle Clark podcasting with Bowling Green State University staff guests Dr. Faith DeNardo and Ashley Hartman (July 2022)

Tina Bradley, DFC Grant Coordinator, at this year's CADCA Mid-Year Conference in Orlando

(July 2022)

Our Coalition's prevention promotion items were given away at several events this past summer to include the Wood County Fair, Pemberville Free Fair and Lake Local School District's Open House.

Late August, we welcomed talented Alisandra as our fall intern from Bowling Green State University!

Coalition staff Kyle Clark and Tina Bradley took to the airwaves (WBGU's The Morning Show) in August to discuss safe drug disposal along with Madison Weilnau and Deputy Kaleb Smith of the Wood County Addiction Response Collaborative and Lisa Myers of the Wood County Committee on Aging. Featured above is host Clint Corpe (our Coalition Media Sector Leader) along with Weilnau (who is also our Coalition Vice President).

Our Coalition is a CADCA Award Finalist!!!!

This July, our Coalition applied for Phase I of CADCA’s 2022 Got Outcomes! Awards. In Phase I, CADCA reviewed and scored our application and various submitted products (to include our Community Assessment, Logic Model, and Summary of Outcomes related to underage drinking).

In early September, we received notification that our Coalition will advance to Phase II of this select process where only the top 25% of applicants move onward!!! As an advancing finalist, we will be invited to tell our coalition’s story of how we attained positive changes in our community-level outcomes.

Applying to Got Outcomes also opens up the opportunity be recognized as a Blue Ribbon Coalition. The Blue Ribbon Coalition Program is a special recognition of coalitions who do an exceptional job creating a foundation for their work by updating and utilizing their products.

We will keep you posted on our final recognition in this endeavor. For more information on CADCA's 2022 Got Outcomes! Awards, click here.

Plan and Do: Prescription Drug Disposal and Securement

The latest Wood County Youth Survey (2022) indicates there has been a 4.3 percent increase in student abuse of painkillers (30-day) since 2020. Access to these medications often explains how these drugs get into the wrong hands.

How can each of us prevent youth drug use? It's as easy as "fall cleaning." Take time this season to take inventory of the prescription drugs you have on hand. Secure those still in use. Then, dispose of those you no longer use or that have expiration dates on them . Four viable disposal options are listed below:

1) Our Coalition offers free Deterra packets to persons residing in Wood County as well as to those businesses, institutions and agencies located here. Deterra is an at-home, easy-to-use drug disposal packet. Learn more about it here. Request yours here.

2) Wood County boasts six drug drop boxes that are available 24 hours a day/365 days a year (no questions asked). The graphic below provides location details. Contact us if you would like one (or a supply) of these graphics in magnet form.

3) There are various hospital and pharmacy locations within Wood County that also serve as prescription drug disposal sites. Download that list here.

4) DEA Drug Take Back Day is October 29, 2022. Access more information and the site locator here.

Help us move closer to a drug-free Wood County! Take the time now to "plan and do" prescription drug disposal and securement. These measures prevent drug abuse, addiction and accidental poisoning.

Get in the Know: Red Ribbon Week

Red Ribbon Week takes place annually, October 23 through 31. The roots of this week-long event harken back to 1985 in response to the murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena. Parents and youth in communities across America began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of his untimely death and the destruction being caused by drugs.

Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a catalyst to mobilize communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. This year's theme is "Celebrate Life. Drug Free." Here in Wood County, all ten public school systems participate annually in Red Ribbon Week events spearheaded by Wood County Educational Service Center Prevention Education Specialists. Additionally, each year, our Coalition also provides various supplies (with anti-drug messages on them) to Wood County's Prevention Education Specialists (t-shirts, banners, etc.) to mark this noteworthy week.

Get Added Information

Download a Red Ribbon Fact Sheet

A scene from one of our Wood County public schools during 2021 Red Ribbon Week events

WCESC Prevention Education Specialist Bill Hamilton recently picking up Red Ribbon Week supplies provided by our Coalition for use in the Northwood Local School District (2022).