Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs
Volume 3, Issue 3, April 2017
SCCUDD News
SCCUDD Accepts RACE Foundation Grant at WGI Reception
Pictured above: Kali Beilman-Martin, Amber Updike, Micheal Printup
Kali Beilman-Martin and Amber Updike, representing SCCUDD, accepted a R.A.C.E. Foundation grant on January 12, 2017 at Watkins Glen International. SCCUDD was awarded an Esses Award of Excellence in the amount of $500. The money will be used by STAND, SCCUDD's youth committee, to host a post prom party.
SCCUDD Interview with WETM:
New Data Shows National Decline in Teen Substance & Alcohol Use
SCHUYLER COUNTY, N.Y. (18 NEWS)- Amy Simpson reporting- Each year the National Institute on Drug Abuse studies teen tobacco, alcohol, and drug use.
This nationwide data shows a decline in 8th, 10th, and 12th grade experimentation.
In the study conducted since 1975, 2016's report was the lowest year for reported illicit drug use other than marijuana for teens surveyed.
Nationally last year 55.6 percent of high school seniors said they used alcohol -- down from 75 percent almost 20 years ago.
In one Southern Tier county -- numbers also show a downward trend in usage -- but are still higher than the national averages.
"Trends are we've seen it go down from 2013 to 2015 and we hope in 2017 that substance use in Schuyler County continues to go down among our youth," said Casey Allen, a Project Coordinator for the Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs.
The most recent Schuyler County data comes from 2015 -- that's when 25.5 percent reported alcohol use, 11.2 percent reported marijuana use, and 4.1 percent reported prescription drug use. But tobacco is a persistent problem as well.
"Tobacco products are quite big," said Allen. "Smokeless tobacco we have two times the national rate which seems crazy but the numbers don't lie."
While the data shows a decline both nationally and in Schuyler County, SCCUDD says there is more work to be done. Including doing a survey to get fresh data.
"At the end of February all three school districts in Schuyler County taking the evalumetrics youth survey and we hope to get some new data that we can put out there to the community and show them that SCCUDD really does work," said Allen.
About 1000 students will participate -- answering more than 100 questions.
The comprehensive survey takes about 45 minutes to complete.
This year they're adding questions about e-cigarette use and focusing on how young people access tobacco, drugs, and alcohol.
"We want to know if you are using cigarettes, where did you get them?" said Allen.
For young people experimenting, community resources are available to curb usage before addiction sets in.
"This is a disease of young people," said Kyle Saxton, Trinity Program Director.
"A lot of addiction is actually going to start in your teen years. One of the statistics that's out there is if you start using before the age of 21 -- you're 4 times more likely to become addicted in the future. So the adolescents that we're serving -- its very important to try and take care of it right then and there or it could become a bigger issue in the future."
Schuyler County Teens attend CADCA’S National Leadership Forum
Representatives from the Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs, including three Schuyler County teens, attended CADCA’s (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's) 27th Annual National Leadership Forum last week.
“We were so excited to be able to spend several days with coalitions from across the country, learning new prevention skills to bring back to Schuyler County,” says Kelsey Kernan, a student at Watkins Glen High School.
Amber Updike, a student at STEM Academy agreed, “I learned a lot at this year’s National Leadership Forum that we can utilize here in Schuyler County”.
Approximately, 3,000 substance abuse prevention specialist and advocates from around the country participated in the event. CADCA’s Forum covered a wide range of topics – everything from how to prevent prescription drug abuse to how to create tobacco-free environments and develop policies to reduce underage drinking.
SCCUDD also met with U.S. representatives and senators at the Forum’s Capitol Hill Day event. “It was a real pleasure to speak with our representatives and let them know about our coalition,” shared Kassandra Snyder, a recent graduate from the Odessa-Montour Central School District.
For more information about CADCA visit www.cadca.org
Pictured above: Kelsey Kernan, Kassadra Snyder, and Amber Updike
Schuyler County Students Take Evalumetrics Youth Survey
In February, students in grades 7-12 from all three schools in Schuyler County took the Evalumetrics Youth Survey. The survey will support schools and districts in the Schuyler County region in measuring and targeting the risk and protective factors that lead to greater substance abuse and other youth problem behaviors. The data will also provide us measures of our success in reducing those problem behaviors.
Saturday, April 29, 2017 is National Drug Take Back Day sponsored by the Schuyler County Sheriff's Department. There will be two collections sites: Odessa and Tyrone Fire Departments. Collection times are from 10am until 2pm.
Shining Star Recognition Award
In March, SCCUDD presented a Shining Star Recognition Award to Kids World. They received this award due to their commitment to the community. Their commitment to support the STAND Over The Counter Medicine Safety Coarse showed their interest in improving the health of children and teens in our area. For this reason, SCCUDD has chosen Kids World as a Shining Star Recognition Award recipient. On behalf of the Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs (SCCUDD) Executive Board, staff, and volunteers, we thank Kids World for their efforts in making the community a healthier and safer place.
Meet a Member Get to know the people in SCCUDD
Name: Michael Ballard Occupation: Environmental Prevention Specialist at the Council on Alcoholism and other Addictions of the Finger Lakes Why did you decide to join SCCUDD: Participating in local coalitions is part of my work at the Council. The coalitions help to change the environmental factors surrounding substance use. Hobbies: Family, dogs, building/woodworking Favorite Food: A good old fashioned cheeseburger with fries or anything you're buying Do you have any pets: Two dogs, both labs. A chocolate named Parker and a black named Boston. What is one interesting thing people should know about you? I was once an Earth Science teacher.
One of the projects our youth members have been working very hard on this year is bringing Scholastic’s Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicine Safety Program to our community.
As you probably already know, prescription drug abuse and heroin use have become a rapidly rising concern in our region and New York State as whole. One way to combat these issues is to teach our children at an early age the simple facts about over-the-counter and prescription medications: why they are helpful, why their use needs to be respected, and why they should only be taken under the supervision of a trusted adult.
We understand how this seems like a topic that would be most appropriate for high school students; we are working on educating them too. But there is very strong national and local data telling us that children are self-medicating, without parental knowledge or consent, beginning at the age of 11 years old. By the age of 16, 90% of children have self-administered over-the-counter medication. As shown by the 125,000 cases taken yearly by American poison centers involving medication errors or misuses by children, without the right information and education mistakes can happen. Waiting to give children this education in high school is already too late. A basic understanding and respect for medicines needs to be built at an early age before they begin to use them.
Studies have shown that children like to learn and learn more effectively when the information is coming from their peers. Because of this, our youth have been trained to teach the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Medicine Safety Program by experts in the field at this past summer’s National Youth Leadership Institute, hosted by CADCA. All materials our students use to teach the program have been developed by Scholastic through research and are written in a way that the average 4th-6th grader can understand. The program is driven strictly by education and prevention, using fear tactics is not effective and is not part of what we teach.
In order to make the biggest impact in our community that we can, we are asking for your help. By attending a FREE training session hosted by STAND, you can become a Medicine Safety Educator and help educate our youth on medicine safety.
If you are interested in participating in a training session or have questions, please contact SCCUDD’s School Liaison, Kali Beilman-Martin, by email at k.beilman.martin@gmail.com or by phone at (607) 962-8459.
We look forward to working with you!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, April 6, 2017 Schuyler County Public Health Open House
from 4-6pm at Millcreek Center
Thursday, April 19, 2017 Chamber Business Expo from 4-7pm at the
Watkins Glen Community Center
Monday, April 24, 2017 Volunteer Fair from 11am-3pm at the Human
Services Complex in Montour Falls
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 Happy 11th Birthday to SCCUDD!
Saturday, May 13, 2017 Health & Wellness Fair from 10am-2pm at the
Watkins Glen High School Fieldhouse
Tuesday, May 16, 2017 Coalition Meeting from 3-4:30pm at the Shared
Services Building Conference Room
