Sarasota Coalition on
Substance Abuse [SCoSA]

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SCoSA Community Initiatives

Project AIM (Alcohol Impairment Measure)

Project AIM is a partnership between the Sarasota Coalition on Substance Abuse, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and the Sarasota County School District that focuses on educating retailers, restaurant and lounge staff, within Sarasota County, in the identification of potentially impaired drivers. The program will be funded in part by a grant from the Sarasota County School Board and will be a collaborative effort between the Coalition, the School District and the Sheriff's office.  Coalition staff will work with the Sheriff's training unit to develop a curriculum that will better prepare area wait staff, bartenders, etc. to spot obvious signs of impairment and prevent continued service to visibly intoxicated persons.  Training manuals will be tailored to fit the needs of the Sarasota community, in hopes of reducing the number of alcohol impaired drivers on our streets.  This is a free community service provided by SCoSA, until the completion of the grant (July, 2012).

The Initiatives

The Community Awareness for Empowerment and Community Advocacy for Reclaiming Lives initiatives involve both community process (e.g. organize citizens and leaders for planning and promoting institutional and collaborative improvements in effectiveness of service delivery) and environmental strategies (e.g. change written or unwritten community standards, codes, and attitudes), thereby influencing the incidence and prevalence of substance abuse. While SCoSA engages in information dissemination and education, these initiatives support the fundamental activities of a coalition: community process and environmental strategies. These activities are needed by community partners to produce the changes of attitude and behavior that will yield protection against substance abuse and its destructive impact.

The goal of the CAFÉ initiative is to provide community awareness regarding the risks and consequences of substance abuse while focusing on protection against its destructive impact. It includes two projects under each of the two programs. The goal of the CARE initiative is to provide screening, treatment, and opportunities for reclaiming the lives of people at-risk for or with substance abuse and treatable mental health disorders.

The Programs and Projects

The Community Awareness Program is an ongoing effort to engage the community in substance abuse prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery.  The main projects under this program are the Media Campaign, the organization’s marketing plan to promote its value, services, partnership, S.A.F.E. (Substance Abuse Free Environments), and Technical Assistance - the launch of the organization as a resource for distribution of information, strategic planning and evaluation services.

The Community Empowerment Program is an ongoing effort to strengthen the community’s capacity to address substance abuse issues. The Teach the Teachers project provides substance abuse education for parents, community members, and professionals. The Mentoring Network project supports the creation of a mentoring center to increase service providers’ collaboration.

The ASSESS Program is an ongoing effort to promote substance abuse and mental health assessments in the business sector, educational institutions, and healthcare facilities. This program has three major projects. The Drug Free Workplace project involves the promotion of the Department of Labor model for drug free practices in the business sectors. Similarly, the Drug Free Schools project promotes the Department of Education guidelines for drug free schools. The last project, Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral Services (SBIR), is an evidence-based model for establishment of a standard of care in healthcare settings.

The Partners in Justice Program is an ongoing effort to advocate for diversionary practices in the judicial system. One of the main projects under this program is the Youth Diversion System, which involves the monitoring of the implementation of the county 3-Year Plan for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and the promotion of a continuum of care for at-risk youth. The Adult Diversion System project involves advocacy for the adoption of a continuum of care for adults in the judicial system.

Believe In All Your Possibilities campaign prompts youth, parents, and communities to have confidence in young people's ability to succeed.  This project is a joint effort between USF, the Sarasota County Health Department and a community board representing 35 organizations and citizens "at-large" to prevent the initiation of smoking and alcohol consumption among middle school students.  The community board adopted the name Community-Based Prevention Marketing [CBPM] Community Advisory Committee [CAC] to emphasize its interest in using prevention marketing.  The Believe In All Your Possibilities campaign includes several intervention strategies: [1] law enforcement tobacco and alcohol citations; [2] tobacco education for youth who receive a tobacco citation; [3] a parent-oriented video, "Can We Talk"; [4] use of a Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test module on tobacco and alcohol for teachers; and [5] two teen theater productions [End of Summer and Read My Lips] to enhance refusal skills.  Several mini-grants have been awarded to community agencies to develop and implement activities that complemented the social marketing plan.  Visit the Believe In All Your Possibilities campaign website for more information.

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