About Us
We are a diverse group of people and organizations working within the community to develop new and effective ways to prevent and reduce mental health and substance use disorders. We believe in our collective and individual responsibility to ensure healthy, safe and productive lives for all Genesee County residents through innovative strategies and community partnerships.
Mission
Genesee County Prevention Coalition executes innovative strategies and unites communities in preventing substance misuse and promoting mental wellness throughout Genesee County.
Vision
Genesee County Prevention Coalition envisions a healthy and thriving community.
Purpose
Create and sustain a community prevention system within Genesee County that incorporates the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). A planning process for preventing substance abuse and misuse.
Provide leadership and collaborate efforts in mental health and substance use disorder prevention in order to impact the primary behavioral health problem(s) at the community level.
Educate its members on current prevention planning concerns and bring awareness of the coalition and its efforts to the community at large in hope of changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.
History
The Genesee County Prevention Coalition was originally formed in 2007 under the name Genesee Alcohol and Addiction Prevention (GAAP) Coalition. The formation of the Coalition was in response to the State of Michigan’s Strategic Prevention Framework – State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) to address alcohol-related crashes and underage drinking in Genesee County. The Coalition was convened by Genesee Health System (formally known as Genesee County Community Mental Health) and served as a subcommittee of the Genesee County Community Collaborative.
A few of the early accomplishments of the Coalition included:
- March 2010- Received the 2009 Traffic Safety Achievement Award from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Commission for the Coalition’s success in reducing alcohol and drug-related traffic fatalities and serious injuries in the Dort Highway area.
- June 2010- the Genesee County Drinking & Driving media campaign won two silver Addy awards and one gold Addy award.
IMPACT: In 2006, Genesee County ranked 2nd highest for the number of alcohol-related fatal traffic crashes in Michigan; in 2009, Genesee County dropped down to the 4th highest.
- January 2011- the anti-Underage Drinking media campaign (When You Host…Everyone Loses) won a silver Addy award.
- Reduced access to alcohol by underage youth through training and partnerships with law enforcement and retail outlets in Genesee County.
IMPACT: Trained 100 local law enforcement officers in the Michigan Liquor Law Enforcement Training Seminar; 690 bar tenders, servers, clerks, etc. received beverage server training in Techniques for Alcohol Management (TAM)
- In January 2010 the Coalition expanded its prevention efforts to include Prescription Drug Awareness through a grant from Prosecutor David Leyton’s Office
- March 2011- Twenty (20) Genesee County school districts passed the Prescription Drug Awareness School Board Resolution
- May 2011- “Responsible Prescribing Practices from Morphine to Marijuana” the first ever Continuing Medical Education (CME) event with all three local hospitals (Hurley, McLaren and Genesys); approximately 200 physicians, medical assistants, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, social workers, and addiction professionals in attendance.
IMPACT: Increased the number of permanent prescription drug collection sites at local law enforcement agencies across Genesee County from five to eleven.
In 2013 the Coalition implemented the Community Trials Model to bring key community stakeholders together under the Partnership for Success grant to expand coalition efforts to reduce underage drinking and increase awareness of prescription drug misuse and abuse. To better understand these issues, the Coalition conducted a Community Survey focused on patterns of use, perceptions and consequences for individuals aged 18-25 and 26+. The results of this survey helped guide the Coalition in updating its Strategic Plan and implementing evidence-based strategies.
In 2015 changes at the State level resulted in a re-organization of coordination of substance use prevention, treatment and recovery services in Genesee County. Coordination of these services shifted from Genesee Health System to Region 10 PIHP. Through a competitive RFP process Region 10 awarded Remedy Exchange, Inc. the contract to continue coordination and staffing to the Coalition. Since this transition the Genesee County Prevention Coalition has focused on building capacity and developing partnerships to ensure healthy, safe and productive lives for all Genesee County residents.
Prevention Programs & Support
Underage Drinking
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration alcohol is the most widely misused substance among America’s youth. Consumption of alcohol by anyone under the age of 21, also known as underage drinking, remains a considerable public health challenge. Adolescent alcohol use is not an acceptable rite of passage, but a serious threat to adolescent development and health. Prevention of underage drinking is aimed at reducing a young person’s risk of using alcohol or increasing factors that help protect them against alcohol use. SAMHSA’s underage drinking prevention campaign—“Talk. They Hear You.”—helps parents and caregivers start talking to their children early—as early as 9 years old—about the dangers of alcohol.
Prescription Drug Misuse
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration prescription drug misuse and abuse is the intentional or unintentional use of medication without a prescription, in a way other than prescribed, or for the experience or feeling it causes. This issue is a growing national problem in the United States. Prescription drugs are misused and abused more often than any other drug, except marijuana and alcohol. This growth is fueled by misperceptions about prescription drug safety, and increasing availability. A 2011 analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that opioid analgesic (pain reliever) sales increased nearly four-fold between 1999 and 2010; this was paralleled by an almost four-fold increase in opioid (narcotic pain medication) overdose deaths and substance abuse treatment admissions almost six times the rate during the same time period.
Partnership for Success Grant
The Genesee County Prevention Coalition was awarded the Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnership For Success Grant 2015-2020 through Region 10 and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Recovery Oriented Systems of Care. The purpose of this grant awarded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) is to address two of the nation’s top substance abuse prevention priorities: 1) underage drinking among persons aged 12 to 20; and 2) prescription drug misuse among persons aged 12 to 25. The SPF-PFS grant program is intended to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance misuse and its related problems while strengthening prevention capacity and infrastructure at the state, tribal, and community levels.
Drug-free Communities Mentoring
The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created by the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-20). DFC Mentoring grants were established as a component of the DFC Support Program when the program was reauthorized in 2001 (Public Law 107-82, 115 Stat. 814). The DFC Mentoring Program was also included in the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-469). The Genesee County Prevention Coalition (mentee) in partnership with the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities (mentor) will receive support and technical assistance through a 2-year Drug Free Communities Mentoring grant. The primary goal of the DFC Mentoring Program is to assist newly forming coalitions in becoming eligible to apply for DFC funding on their own. It is the intent of the DFC Mentoring Program that, at the end of the Mentoring grant, each Mentee coalition will meet all of the Statutory Eligibility Requirements of the DFC Support Program and be fully prepared to compete for the DFC grant on their own. Grantees will be expected to achieve this goal by meeting the following objectives:
- Strengthen Mentee coalition’s organizational structure.
- Increase Mentee coalition’s leadership and community readiness to address youth substance use problems in the Mentee community.
- Assist the Mentee coalition in working through a strategic planning process that will result in a comprehensive Action Plan.
FY 25 Annual Report
Community Partners
Meet Our Team
Hannah Griswold
Youth Engagement Specialist
Alexandria Leatherberry
Health Communications Specialist
Board Members
Jennifer Thornquist
Board President
Darcele Cole Robinson
Board Vice President
Shearese Stapleton
Board Member
Quantrez Anderson
Quantrez Anderson
Board Member
Kelly Merrill Batsios
Board Member