Substance Use Prevention Coalition Meets for Spring Updates

[April 15, 2024] 

The Substance Use Prevention Coalition (SUPC) met for its April meeting on Thursday at Lincoln Memorial Hospital (LMH). Representatives from area organizations gathered to discuss substance use prevention and harm reduction strategies for Logan County.

Prevention

There is currently an alcohol awareness campaign at area high schools. Parents will be offered a survey to gauge which materials they prefer.

Lincoln Community High School passed out lanyards and postcards the second week of April for the anti-vaping campaign.

The Illinois Youth Survey has been completed by half of area schools. The rest are scheduled for April and May.

Youth Prevention Education is finishing at Lincoln Junior High School in April.

Drug Take Back Day occurred in April in some areas of Logan County. Lincoln City police did not have staffing for a Drug Take Back Day to coincide with the April date in Lincoln. Molly McCain, Community Health Coordinator for LMH, will post drug disposal information around town. Drug disposal is available at pharmacies and the Logan County Health Department.
National Prevention Week is May 12-18. The SUPC grant focuses on alcohol and opioids. Observance of National Prevention Week will include chalk drawing, school intercom announcements, and spirit week for participating schools.

Updated Resource Directory cards are available for www.logancountyresources.org.

Harm Reduction

Logan County Health Department continues to replace the free naloxone available in the lobby. Mt. Pulaski library will soon have naloxone, fentanyl testing strips, and xylazine testing strips and a red box for sharps.

Recovery Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) had their second screening of “Generation Found” at Arlee Theater in Mason City. ROSC representatives have found that there is next to nothing available for high schoolers seeking recovery. They hope to create a work group to create alternative peer support.

ROSC wants to collaborate with the community and individuals and to offer training. Faces and Voices will train on May 2 with “Our Stories Have Power.” These trainings are for allies, supporters, friends, and families as well as those with lived experience.

ROSC is working to bring a Winner’s Circle to Lincoln, which is another path to recovery that serves as another alternative to AA and NA meetings.

ROSC is also trying to create discussions around harm reduction and how to talk about it. They are Investigating how other drug courts operate. They are looking into additional resources and also evaluating the last three years. Some are advocating for an Oxford House for women.

Goals for ROSC are to consider how Prevention and ROSC can meld better. They are working on implementing a stigma campaign with another ROSC.

There are new ROSC cards with updated recovery meeting times and a new QR code.

McCain has completed focus groups for the Community Health Collaborative Needs Assessment and is now compiling data. A meeting is scheduled with the Advisory Board in April. Afterward the data will run through the Prioritization Matrix.

There is a Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Focus group with high school students on Monday about a text campaign to start in the fall. The next high school focus group will vet potential texts.

A new LMH walking challenge begins in May. The MAY-rathon is a challenge to walk 39 laps of the LMH walking trail in the month of May which equals 13.1 miles. Three laps of the trail equals one mile. Anyone completing the 39 laps will earn a T-shirt. A grand prize will be awarded to the one who completes the most laps from the community and from LMH.

Trauma Informed Care Training through LMH is scheduled for June 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. Registration is required. The training is free and CEUs are available for certain certifications. Online trainings are also available at a later date.

The Logan County Environmental Scan is beginning and has an online sign-up. Plans are to complete the scan by the end of May. The scan involves a checklist in a fillable pdf and possibly a survey to complete on a phone.

Hope on Fifth is still undergoing renovations. They just had a meeting with members of the coalition. They are still working on coding issues, but they are on track to getting it finished. They want to be able to host community events.

There are four Oxford Houses in central Illinois. The new coordinator at Lincoln’s Oxford House is looking into coordinating events among the houses. Calen, president of Oxford House, was able to present at Rotary about their Oxford House.

The next ROSC meeting is April 18. The next SUPC meeting is May 9. The next Community Health Collaborative networking meeting is June 6 at the Logan County Health Department.

[Stephanie Hall]