Shedding Light on Alcohol in the Historic Triangle

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Shedding Light on Alcohol in the Historic Triangle

• Gina de Peralta Thorne, Coalition Director
• Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition

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Historic Triangle Substance Abuse Coalition

• The mission of the Historic Triangle Substance
  Abuse Coalition is to strengthen the capacity of
  the Historic Triangle region to create and
  maintain a safe, healthy and drug-free community.

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HTSAC Organizational Chart
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Coalition Demographics

• Drug Free Communities Grantee since 2000
• Leveraged over 2.5 million dollars in federal,
  state and local grant funds
• 166 individual members representing 44
  organizations
• All 12 sectors are actively involved

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Geographic Region

• City of Williamsburg
• James City County
• York County

• Suburban bedroom community to Richmond,
  Virginia
• Population combined is 80,000 and growing
• Tourist Driven Economy (Colonial Williamsburg,
  Historic Jamestown and Yorktown,
  Busch Gardens and Water Country)

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Community Assessment

• 2002 Asset Needs Mapping
• 2003/2004 GOSAP Needs Assessment
• 2004 Coalition Informant Interviews
• 2005 Student Focus Groups
• 2005 Parent Survey
• 2006 Treatment Needs Assessment
• 2006 WJCC Communities That Care Youth Survey
• 2006 Faith Based Survey Outreach
• 2007 York County Communities That Care Youth
  Survey

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National Local Youth Statistics

• Nationally
• Alcohol remains the No. 1 killer of youngsters in
  this country 6.5 times more than all other
  illegal drugs combined.
• Each day, more than 7,000 kids in the U.S. under
  the age of 16 takes their first drink.
• Locally
• Youth reported drinking alcohol regularly as
  early as 14 years old.
• 52 of 12th grade youth reported drinking alcohol
  in the last 30 days.
• 59 of youth do not perceive drinking alcohol
  regularly as risky.
• Across the three comparison grades, (8th, 10th
  and 12th) students in WJCC reported higher levels
  of lifetime, alcohol use, than their national
  counterparts

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Focus Group Results

• Frequently Used Substances
• Alcohol, Tobacco and Marijuana
• Time of Day
• After school, before school and on the weekends
• Location of Use
• Parties at friends houses, in the woods and in
  public parking lots

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Focus Group Results Cont

• Perception of Harm
• Alcohol and tobacco are not considered a drug.
  No harm in using it. Drinking alcohol is like
  drinking coffee.
• Accessibility
• Access to alcohol from strangers (shoulder
  -tapping, older siblings, parents, college
  students, fake IDs)

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• 2006 Communities That Care Survey
• W/JCC 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th grade 30 Day Use

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2006 Data Protective Factors (Scored Low)

• Community Opportunities for Pro-social
  Involvement
• Growth of population 65 years and older expanding
  4.5 a year compared with 1.7 in the state.
• Not enough youth focused activities
• Social Skills
• Youth are unable to manage conflict and social
  situations
• Belief in Moral Order
• Presence of AB and socially acceptable family
  events with alcohol present.

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2006 Data Risk Factors (Scored High)

• Poor Family Management
• Alcohol parties in the home (supervised/unsupervis
  ed), mixed messages from parents about firm no
  alcohol use rules in and outside the home.
• Economic Disparities (Tourist Driven community-
  Shift Work/High-earning families traveling to
  Richmond or Va. Beach)
• Poor Academic Performance
• Youth feel they are underperforming compared to
  their peers.
• Low Perceived Risk of Drug Use
• Focus group data supported this when youth shared
  their parents dismissed this behavior as no big
  deal, right of passage.

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2006 Treatment Needs Assessment

• Continuum of Services
• Biggest issues facing their clients with
  substance abuse problems. especially for persons
  released form incarceration (e.g., affordable
  treatment programs, employment, and housing).
• Public Awareness
• Regarding substance abuse issues across the
  region, especially aimed at young people and
  persons in positions of leadership.
• Transportation
• To and from treatment services and 12 step
  meetings. This issue was voiced across the region
  and in all sectors surveyed.
• Detox and IOP (Intensive Outpatient Programs)
• Transitional Housing
• Men Women

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Key issues tied to alcohol related problems in
the Historic Triangle community
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• Waiting list for newly established Transitional
  Housing Program. (Male only)
• No SA Transitional Housing for females.
• Lack of continuum of services for those
  individuals released from incarceration with
  history of addiction.
• Frequency of underage drinking.
• Lack of family management skills and effective
  parenting practices.
• Not enough youth-focused activities.

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Dilemmas or Challenges that research can help us
answer
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• Are turf issues impacting the development of an
  effective continuum of care model for addiction
  recovery?
• How is parental acceptance of underage drinking
  perpetuating the growth of future addiction in
  our community?
• Is the lack of transportation increasing relapse
  and recidivism?
• Can an increase in youth focused activities
  decrease underage drinking?
• Is the presence of AB contributing to normative
  acceptance of alcohol consumption.
• Is the presence of the College of William and
  Mary perpetuating underage drinking?
• Can transitional housing in partnership with two
  existing agencies work effectively to maintain
  addiction recovery?

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• Challenges that may act as barriers to an
  effective community/research partnership

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Challenges/Barriers to Effective
Community/Research Partnership

• Community loyalty to Anhesuer Busch
• Tourist-driven economy- degree of public
  awareness may impact community image.
• Issues of greater importance in the community,
  i.e., transportation, affordable housing,
  economic and workforce development.

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Worthwhile Outcomes
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• What is the cost/benefit ratio of infusing
  dollars into substance abuse prevention,
  treatment and recovery programs.
• Can a Coalition working with various sectors in
  the community to effect population-level
  reductions in substance abuse?
• Does creating a continuum of care model
  (Prevention, Treatment and Recovery) in a
  coalition work? or Is it too much for a coalition
  to manage?

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Questions