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Coalition taking on drug abuse

FAIRMONT — The Martin County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition received some insight Friday afternoon that will carry purpose for years to come.

In October, the Coalition received a federal grant of $125,000 per year for five years. The grant will continue the coalition’s purpose of preventing underage drinking and drug use in Martin County.

The grant requires having an evaluator determine if the coalition is effective, and help guide it toward a path of success that will benefit the youth and community now and into the future.

Deacon Dzierzawski, president of Epiphany Community Services in Ohio, traveled to Fairmont to speak at the Coalition meeting and provide concepts for an action plan for the next five years.

Five functions of an evaluation entail improvement, coordination, accountability, celebration and sustainability. Dzierzawski reviewed how each step is important in creating a plan of action that will be built to last, rather than just a temporary solution to a growing problem.

Those who attended the meeting were split into groups to discuss how they would fix the problems of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug abuse. As each group began explaining its reasoning, more discussion was carried out based on the opinions of leaders in the community and select students of Martin County West and Fairmont High School.

A few potential solutions involve parent and young adult awareness and education; involving high-risk students; increased surveillance; and the continuation of appropriate consequences for illegal activity.

As the discussion continued, those involved learned of ways to provide their action plan with details that will focus on addressing the problem. Dzierzawski said there are three parts of the Coalition evaluation. In order to create an effective approach, one must ask, “What community problems are we addressing? What are we doing to change our community? And how do we know if we are making a difference?” These steps are also referred to as the target, ammo and score.

Starting with the premise that most young people can be reached but about 10 percent cannot be, discussion involved focusing attention on the middle bloc of youth who could sway either way on using drugs or alcohol, and so who would provide success or failure in measuring the Coalition’s effectiveness.

“If you were to accomplish any of these approaches on stopping alcohol, prescription drugs or marijuana, it would be a success,” Dzierzawski said. “We (Epiphany Community Services) will type up your approach and provide a logic module that can be used over the next several years to help make these goals a success.”

“I am most excited for the collaboration that has taken place within the community,” said Stephanie Johnson, project coordinator. “It has been great to see so many community leaders working together, and we will continue to strive to be effective in the community for years to come.”

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