Providing Educational Programming for Targeted Prevention

The most effective way to lower the human and societal costs of drug abuse and other harmful behaviors is to simply prevent it in the first place. There is an immediate need to educate communities and empower them to prevent drug use, reduce harmful behaviors, and learn more about preventable health concerns.

WestCare understands that education is the key to prevention. All educational programming is designed to meet the needs of targeted populations in a trauma-informed, culturally competent manner. Creating educational programming that specifically targets adolescents is a high feat. It must relate to what the youth are going through and meet them where they are. Examples of programs such as these include: California's Education & Prevention, Florida's Boys to Boys and Improv.

WestCare utilizes a variety of community, grassroots and innovative outreach efforts in order to increase community education for both adolescents and adults on a variety of health, recovery and social issues. In order to effectively provide prevention services for large communities, coalitions have been formed. Coalitions seek collaboration between organizations agreeing to work together in unity toward one common goal: to reduce substance abuse and promote the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse. Examples of programs such as these include: The Miami Beach Coalition (MBC) and Nevada's Building Our Youths' Spirit (B.O.Y.S.) program.