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We Don’t Vape Public Service Announcement
Hosted by:
Butler County Community Resource Council
Please briefly describe your Communities Talk activity.
The We Can Be Drug Free Coalition worked with Neelyville High School to create a “We Don’t Vape” public service announcement. The video featured high school juniors and seniors telling the reasons they choose not to vape. We worked with a local media consultant to produce the video, then were able to pay for the video to be shown during the previews at our local movie theater. The video was also shared on the school’s social media as well as the coalition’s. The video has approximately 400 views on YouTube and was displayed at the movie theaters from May 6, 2024, to July 14, 2024
How does alcohol and other drug misuse affect your community?
A review of the 2020 Missouri Student Survey for Butler County shows that county percentages for electronic cigarettes (22.9%), alcohol (19.1%), marijuana (11.1%), prescription medications not prescribed (9.8%), and over-the-counter medications to get high (4.1%) exceed the Missouri statewide percentages. In Butler County, according to the 2020 Missouri Student Survey, 19.1% reported using alcohol. This is an increase from 12.7% reported in 2018. There is also a reported decrease in parents’ perception of the risks of alcohol use, from 95% (2018) to 90.6% (2020). A similar pattern is repeated across all the indicators under parents’ perception of wrongness from 2018 to 2020. This suggests that the overall student perception that their parents feel it is wrong or very wrong to use substances is falling. See the Butler County Report 2024 for more details. The coalition has also obtained law enforcement data from the 36th Circuit Juvenile Office for the past three years. In 2020, 12% of the total offenses were related to substances (three alcohol and 11 marijuana). The year 2021 looked very similar, with 10% of the total charges being related to illegal substances for youth (11 marijuana and one alcohol). Finally, in the year 2023, 12.5% of total offenses were related to illegal substances for youth (22 marijuana, one alcohol, and two unidentified substances).
Which prevention strategy(ies), as defined by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, best fit your Communities Talk activity?
- Environmental Strategy - focuses on establishing or changing community standards, codes, and attitudes thereby influencing incidence and prevalence of alcohol and other drug use within the community. The strategy depends on engaging a broad base of community partners, focuses on places and specific problems, and emphasizes public policy.
What goal(s) did you hope to accomplish with your Communities Talk activity?
- Hold meetings or discussion groups on alcohol and/or other drug misuse prevention.
- Create alcohol and/or other drug misuse prevention action groups (e.g., committees, task forces, and advisory boards).
- Develop strategic plans to reduce and prevent alcohol and/or other drug misuse.
Did you accomplish your goal(s)?
Yes
What challenge(s) did you face in planning your activity this year?
- Needed additional resources to conduct activity
How did you overcome these challenges?
We overcame this challenge by combining resources through our Drug Free Communities grant money with the Communities Talk stipend. We then worked with a media consultant who is also a member of our coalition to film and produce the video at a reduced rate.
What are your next steps?
- Create a public education campaign to raise awareness and/or change behaviors around underage drinking (i.e., create PSAs and other promotional materials)
If you’ve conducted Communities Talk activities in prior years, how has your repeated participation contributed to progress in achieving your prevention goals?
Our coalition has conducted Communities Talk activities for several years now. The repeat participation has allowed our coalition to expand our capacity as well as become an established and reputable organization. These activities have spread awareness and helped to educate our community on substance use issues.
Organizations that conduct Communities Talk activities often involve other organizations in the planning and execution of events. Please indicate which type(s) of organizations you involved in your activity planning.
- Law enforcement
- Youth-led organizations
- Secondary schools
- Charitable organizations
- Local businesses
- State and local government agencies (e.g., public health departments)
Which of the following best describes the primary audience(s) for your Communities Talk activity?
- Youth
- Parents
- Youth leaders (e.g., coaches, parks and recreation personnel, and scouting leaders)
- The media
How did you reach and engage your primary audience(s) to encourage them to participate in your activity?
We engaged our primary audience by involving them in the production of the public service announcement. We worked with the youth in the video to write the script, and encouraged them to share things that they thought would be impactful to other youth. We then used the funding to promote the public service announcement on social media and at the local movie theater, both of which target youth.
Which Communities Talk resources (or other SAMHSA resources) were most helpful for your activity?
- Prevention-related webinars
- StopAlcoholAbuse.gov website
- Communities Talk website
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