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Prevention

Imagine you’re standing by a river and suddenly see a person struggling in the water, being swept downstream. You rush in to rescue them. Just as you bring them to shore, another person floats by needing help, then another, and another. You and others work tirelessly to save each person, but the stream of people keeps coming.

Eventually, someone suggests, "Let’s go up the river and see why so many people are falling in." When you travel upstream, you find that a bridge is broken, causing people to fall into the river. By fixing the bridge, you prevent people from falling into the water in the first place.

Step Up Naugy started as and will stand as a prevention organization first and foremost. Prevention is crucial in the context of youth substance use for several reasons, including early intervention and improving developmental outcomes. Investing in prevention is more cost-effective than later treatment in substance use disorders, healthcare, criminal justice, and general wellness. Prevention is vital for protecting youth from the harms associated with substance use, promoting healthy development, and fostering thriving communities.

Primary Prevention

Primary prevention refers to proactive strategies and interventions designed to prevent the early use of substances before the first time. It aims to reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors within a population, ultimately promoting overall health and well-being.

Secondary Prevention

Secondary prevention refers to strategies and interventions aimed at early detection and intervention for substance use that has already occurred but is not yet severe. The goal of secondary prevention is to identify these issues as early as possible to prevent progression and minimize their impact.

Tertiary Prevention

Tertiary prevention refers to strategies and interventions aimed at managing and minimizing the impact of substance use. It focuses on individuals who have already experienced substance use and seeks to reduce complications, prevent further use, and improve quality of life. This includes treatment, recovery, and harm reduction.

Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change

Step Up Naugy utilizes the CDC's Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change, guiding prevention efforts through evidence-based implementation. The seven strategies are:

  1. Provide information: Brochures, speakers, media campaigns, social networking, and other events. The entire purpose here is to provide accurate information and data about substance use dangers and norms.
  2. Enhance skills: Education and training programs for youth, parents, community members, and other businesses about responsible substance use and storage of substances, legal regulations, and other items to improve understanding of prevention.
  3. Provide support: Providing alternative/drug-free social events, including community and family programs, youth drop-in hours, and support groups.
  4. Enhance access & reduce barriers: Increasing access to substance use services and providing assistance to access transportation, child care, and other barriers to service. Also reducing access and enhancing barriers, which is about preventing access to substances by youth and vulnerable individuals and creating barriers to the ability to acquire substances.
  5. Change consequences: Strengthening enforcement for laws and consequences of substance use, recognizing youth who are not using and businesses passing compliance checks, and publicizing businesses in non-compliance of laws.
  6. Change the physical design: Identifying physical design problems relating to substance use access, cleanup and beautification, identifying problem establishments for closure, and encouraging businesses and events to have "sober" zones.
  7. Educate and inform about modifying or changing policies: Advocating for youth and community needs at state and federal levels, promoting drug-free schools, creating treatment or prevention alternatives to current laws, other restriction or density of outlet changes, and changing legality of substances.

Using each of these seven strategies are part of a holistic approach to youth prevention and community wellness.