Building healthy youth through community-based substance abuse education and leadership development: The Wards 7 and 8 DC Prevention Center

The Wards 7 and 8 DC Prevention Center addresses youth ATOD risks with a conceptual framework and guiding principles from the Washington DC Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration. Data suggest that DC's ATOD risk factors are highest in Wards 7 and 8: 40% of DC's youth population under 18 resides in Wards 7&8; these Wards have the highest rates of unemployment and violence; and 51 of 83 juvenile homicides in DC occurred there. These social determinants put youth at high risk for early substance use. Thus, the Center has adopted a systems-level approach to achieve the anticipated outcome of changing community norms towards ATOD. This approach focuses on neighborhood-level, community-based change. The innovative strategy engages community members in youth ATOD prevention through the development of neighborhood-based prevention networks. This is accomplished through community education and leadership development to build residents' capacity to engage in a focused action planning process. This cutting-edge approach places all staff in the community with only staff check-ins and administrative work occurring at the center's physical location. Early indicators of success include engagement of 91 community clusters and network participants, organizations and residents, in these activities. In working to educate this network, which represents thousands of families, youth, and caring adults, it is expected that this approach will foster community leadership development; fuel community acceptance of non ATOD use norms, subsequently delay the first use of ATOD by youth under 18 and impede the progression of other risk factors.