May 2014   
 
 

Upcoming Training Opportunities

This webinar acknowledges the reality: that many times, sustainability is not an all-or-nothing proposition. The presenters will share some ways to look at your project or program and ask the question, “What is it that we want to sustain?”

OBJECTIVES:

  • Receive a refresher of the highlights from the Part I webinar
  • Determine steps in the decision-making process
  • Walk through the steps for figuring out what to sustain

ABOUT THE PRESENTERS:
Sylvan Robb and Karen Benning have supported the State of Alaska’s SPF SIG* grantees for the past several years as part of the Community Prevention Support Team.
*Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant (focused on alcohol prevention)

REGISTRATION:
To attend the webinar, click here. You will be directed to a registration survey. Please fill out your name and affiliation. Once completed, you will be redirected to the Adobe Connect webinar room. If you register prior to the training date, the survey link will automatically reroute you to the meeting room. To enter the meeting room for the webinar, enter as a guest and type your name; then click “enter room.”

To see a list of additional upcoming trainings, check out the SPF SIG website for more information.

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Past Trainings

If you missed the last webinar, Evaluation Expectations and Considerations: Determining When, If, and How to Work with an Evaluator, you can view it on the SPF SIG website. The webinar covers the role of evaluators and the considerations to keep in mind when deciding if, how, and when to work with an evaluator. Viewers will learn useful skills and knowledge to successfully work with evaluators and leave with some suggested strategies to help minimize evaluation costs on a tight budget. The presentation slides and related handout materials are also posted.

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Yakutat Team Launches Media Campaign

The recent launch of a media campaign by the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe (YTT) coalition demonstrates how powerful grassroots efforts can be! Six eye-grabbing, colorful posters include messages targeted at reducing youth’s social access to alcohol. Posters are being strategically positioned in high-traffic community places including the two grocery stores, post office, coffee shops, and bars. Each poster gets a 6-week rotation and has a launch date over the next several months.

The YTT Team developed poster and sticker messages based on its local assessment information regarding youth’s perceptions and community norms. One poster encourages parents to talk to their children about the negative effects of alcohol use because youth reported that they didn’t think their parents talked to them enough about alcohol. Other posters and liquor bag stickers address different legal consequences for adults providing to minors in terms of Alaska statutes.

The team’s resourcefulness, creative photo shoots, skills in Photoshop and layout, and an effective working knowledge of community all coalesced to spur a strategic and potent grassroots media campaign to prevent underage drinking in Yakutat. One of the team members reported about borrowing handcuffs from local law enforcement and a gavel from the magistrate to create realistic and attention-getting photos for the campaign. Hats off to the YTT Coalition!

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Homer Launches Positive Community Norms Campaign

The Homer Prevention Project (HPP) launched its Positive Community Norms media campaign, called “Just the FACTS”, at the end of April. The initial message of the campaign focused on adult heavy and binge drinking, highlighting the number of drinks on average for adults (78% of Homer area adults have 2 or fewer drinks on days they do drink alcohol). As the community becomes saturated with this message, additional messaging will be added about the number of days in a typical month that adults drink alcohol. Data to support this media campaign was collected via a telephone survey in May, 2013 of 633 randomly selected phone numbers from PFD applications in the Homer and Anchor Point zip codes. A companion campaign targeting youth alcohol consumption based on 2013 YRBS data will begin in fall 2014.

Radio ads are also being recorded using a local voice, and flyers will be posted around town. As the campaign falls into place, other items will be printed such as bookmarks, coasters, banners and sandwich board signs.

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An article describing the campaign was featured in the Homer Tribune in April and an ad is currently playing at the Homer Theater prior to movies. You can see the movie theater ad and other print ads for the campaign on HPP’s Just the FACTS website.

Coffee cups are currently being printed and will be distributed to local coffee shops in May, and quarter-page, full-color ads will begin appearing in the Homer News and Homer Tribune the week of May 5.

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Evaluation Team Updates

The state evaluation team has finished conducting interviews with grantee staff members and technical assistance providers to learn about individual and coalition experiences during the strategy selection and implementation process. Evaluators are working to summarize the information provided during the implementation phase. They aim to have a summary complete by the end of May. Once the interview participants have reviewed the summary, it will be distributed and discussed more broadly by all SPF SIG staff. For those who participated, thank you for your unique and valuable perspective!

Evaluators are gearing up to conduct final evaluation site visits this summer. Agendas are being finalized, with tentative plans to discuss the SPF Fidelity scoring and conduct individual interviews with selected coalition members to gain their perspective on the SPF process. Dates will be arranged and organized with grantee staff towards the end of May. Stay tuned!

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Youth Alliance for a Healthier Alaska (YAHA): 2014-2015 Recruitment

Do you know a young person (between the ages of 14-18) in your community that would benefit from participating in a group of positive, dedicated and creative peers next school year?

YAHA is a group of youth from across Alaska that advise the State of Alaska, Division of Public Health’s Adolescent Health Program in the Section of Women’s, Children’s & Family Health. If you have connections with a youth that is interested in health, please encourage them to apply. 

The next session begins September 2014 and ends in May 2015. YAHA members attend a monthly teleconference, participate in a one-time in-person meeting in Anchorage and have the opportunity to give youth voice to youth-serving programs.  They also receive a $10 gift card for each hour of active participation in meetings and learn about Public Health in Alaska.

Applications are due June 13, 2014 at 5:00 pm. To apply, visit the YAHA website.

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“Talk. They Hear You.” SAMHSA’s Underage Drinking Prevention Campaign

SAMHSA's underage drinking prevention campaign helps parents and caregivers start talking to their children early—as early as 9 years old—about the dangers of alcohol. The campaign website has a wealth of information and resources including customizable promotion materials, resources for parents and many other tools to help prevent underage drinking.

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NIAAA hosts Twitter Chat on Treatment Options for Alcohol Problems

On April 29, 2014, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism co-hosted a chat with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence on Twitter to discuss current treatment options for alcohol use disorders.

See the archived conversation here.

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A Prioritized Research Agenda for Suicide Prevention: An Action Plan to Save Lives

In spite of continued public and private investment in research over the past decade, there is no evidence of an overall decrease in suicide deaths or attempts in the United States. In February 2014, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Research Prioritization Task Force (RPTF) released A Prioritized Research Agenda for Suicide Prevention: An Action Plan to Save Lives, which outlines the research areas that show the most promise in helping to reduce the rates of suicide attempts and deaths in the next 5-10 years, if optimally implemented. This is the first time in the United States that suicide research has been prioritized to have the biggest impact on the rates of suicide attempts and deaths.

Read the action plan here.

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In the News

Study: Banning alcohol in Alaska villages doesn’t reduce suicide, but more jobs might (Anchorage Daily News)

Should Powered Alcohol be on the Market? Critics Say No Way (Alaska Dispatch)

Western Alaska Leaders Fret Over Marijuana Legalization in Rural Communities (Alaska Dispatch)

Nunavut Filmmakers Turn the Lens on Suicide (Alaska Dispatch)

Winter Bear a Powerful Play on Suicide (Seward City News)

Coaches Come to Juneau to Fight Domestic Violence (Juneau Empire)

Training Men and Women on Campus to ‘Speak Up’ to Prevent Rape (NPR) Note: They don’t mention Green Dot specifically, but the program they discuss here bears a strong resemblance to the original form of Green Dot.

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