Coalition talks to community leaders about drug abuse May 10, 2013 Cincinnati.com COLERAIN TWP. — A small group of residents, school and business leaders and police officers met May 8 for a community drug summit to talk about drug use and drug prevention strategies that would involve more people. Colerain Police Chief Dan Meloy and Lt. Angela Meyer shared statistics and discussed community perception of the problem. Officers at the summit talked about the rise of the abuse of prescription drugs and heroin, here and in other communities. “We border eight different jurisdictions here in Colerain Township,” Meloy said. “Their problems don’t stop at the township line.” Meloy said the township police department is doing a good job keeping the community safe. “We want to share with our community what is happening as well as the proactive measures we are taking to address the issue,” he said. Meloy pointed to partnerships as one way the department is proactive. “We don’t mind asking for help,” he said. He said those partnerships with local departments and other agencies such as the FBI and the DEA as well as the U.S. Marshals mean there are more personnel available to help in the fight against drugs in the township. Closer to home, partnerships within the community are important, too. Meloy says DARE is a valuable way to build relationships with students in the community and talk about other issues such as internet safety and bullying. He points to the partnership between the township and the Northwest Local School District in placing school resource officers in both of the district’s high schools as examples of effective collaboration. The Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati community coordinator Amanda Conn Starner says the community has to provide the people and set the direction for its coalition. Her group helps communities identify the issues and develop strategies. Starner says her group want to help the Colerain community to organize, plan and take action around their own local issues. It is the role of a community-wide drug prevention coalition to bring residents together to address the root causes of substance abuse. In the end, it is the residents of the community who will work to make the plan effective. Starner said a successful coalition includes a youth, parents, businesses, media, schools, youth serving organizations, law enforcement, religious organizations, civic organizations, health care professionals, governmental agencies with expertise in the field of substance abuse, and other groups or individuals, such as senior citizens and people who are in recovery. “Each sector adds a unique perspective to the work of a coalition and is necessary in order to successfully tackle substance abuse issues,” she said. One of the ways Starner’s group helps identify problems is the PRIDE student drug use survey. Pauletta Crowley, administrative assistant for community and administrative services for the Northwest Local School District, said students in the district have taken the survey. The results are not broken out by school or district, but the survey measures a variety of key elements including what students are using, where they get drugs, and the perception of harm that they and their parents feel about alcohol and drugs. This data has shown for the last few survey cycles that the most frequently used drugs by Tristate students are alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drugs in that order. Starner said it’s also been fairly steady that 13 is the average age local kids start using alcohol, tobacco and drugs for the first time. A coalition can also engage in prevention that tries to address the issue of drug and alcohol abuse through policy and law. Communities may want tougher host laws, with heavier penalties for parents who provide alcohol at parties for underage drinkers, for example. Starner said the environmental actions can model good behavior against a stream of negative influences by alcohol and drug use, she said. Crowley said it might be helpful to have people from an established community coalition come and share how it is working in their community. Starner agreed. She will go over the areas of interested indicated by attendees and the core Colerain coalition, which meets monthly, will determine how it wants to proceed. The group is planning a teen summit in the fall. For information about the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati, visit the website at www.drugfreecincinnati.org About the group About the group The Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati was founded in 1996 as a comprehensive effort to address youth substance abuse and covers 10 counties in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. The group’s mission is to promote drug-free environments for youth by enhancing partnerships to educate, advocate and support locally-based community mobilization. There are four goals, which are: Delay the age when youth begin using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Decrease the number of youth who are using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Increase youth perception of personal harms associated with using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Increase the frequency of youth and parents who express their disapproval of youth using alcohol, tobacco and other drugs