Drug-Free Community Program

About

Action Plan

Initiatives & Activities

About

About the Drug-Free Community (DFC) Program

The Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program was created with the goal of empowering and strengthening local communities to be able to identify and address the unique factors tied to substance use in each community.

Communities that are awarded with the DFC grant receive $125,000 every year for 5 years, with the option to apply for an additional 5 years of funding. These funds are used to help with substance use prevention efforts.

More Information

Sector Representatives

The heart of the DFC programs are coalitions, and within this, the DFC program requires that the coalition have 12 sector representatives. These individuals, or sector reps., are individuals who represent different aspects of the community and are committed to substance use prevention and the well-being of the community.

These individuals represent the following sectors:

- Youth

- Parents

- Business

- Media

- Schools

- Youth-Serving Organizations

- Law Enforcement

- Civic/Volunteer Organizations

- Business

- Religious/Fraternal Organizations

- Healthcare Professionals

- State/Local/Tribal Government

- Substance Abuse Organizations

Program Activities

So what exactly happens in a DFC program?

What makes the DFC program so special is that it acknowledges and celebrates that every community is unique and different, with their own challenges and strengths. This means that the activities, goals, and outcomes are specific to the community the program is in.

Below are some of the broad goals our DFC program hopes to accomplish and some examples of activities we are doing to reach these goals.

Gain Understanding & Meaning

To understand local conditions, root causes, and beliefs that cause substance use and influence other health behaviors and well-being.

Activities: Surveys, key informant interviews, focus groups, coalition meetings, work groups, and more.

Change Norms and Beliefs Surrounding Substance Use

To shift community norms and beliefs that drive substance use among youth and adults.

Activities: Social norms campaigns, education, quarterly newsletters, presentations, and more.

Reduce Barriers and Enhance Access

To identify barriers to healthy choices and care, and enhance access to substance-free activities, positive-decision making, and overall well-being.

Activities: Programming, policy change, environmental change, and more.

Action Plan

Walpole Prevention Coalition's action plan is a roadmap that helps guide the coalition in our work. It outlines our goals, the strategies we use, and the specific steps we're taking to create lasting change in the prevention of substance use and the promotion of health and wellbeing.

Goal One

Establish and strengthen collaboration among community sectors and organizations to address youth substance use.

Together for Prevention: Our Strategy and Your Role

Grow & Strengthen Our Coalition

Join and invite others to join Walpole Prevention Coalition.
Help connect us with other communities and groups.
Share your perspective - including thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
Volunteer and participate in community events.

Empower & Uplift Youth

Encourage youth to join Walpole Prevention Coalition and get involved in coalition activities.
Support youth-led projects, events, and activities.
Partner with schools, clubs, and community groups to create opportunities for youth leadership.

Help Us Understand the Why

Participate in or promote community surveys.
Encourage your youth to participate in school and community surveys.
Join or recommend someone for our focus groups.
Share your experiences and observations regarding substance use with us.

Goal Two

Reduce substance use and misuse among youth and over time, reduce substance use and misuse among adults by addressing the factors in the community that increase risk of substance use and misuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance use.

Together for Prevention: Our Strategy and Your Role

Create More Opportunities for Youth

Support and promote substance-free after-school programs.
Encourage youth participation in sports, clubs, and leadership opportunities.
Volunteer or partner with organizations that serve youth.

Share Real and Helpful Information

Help spread prevention campaigns designed for families and students.
Participate in developing and sharing youth-led messaging.
Offer ideas for where and how prevention content can reach more families.

Strengthen Youth-Adult Connections

Support efforts to connect youth with mentors, coaches, and caring adults.
Join a community workgroup focused on building these relationships.
Encourage adults to actively listen to and support youth.

Objectives

1) Encourage healthy choices by increasing the number of Walpole youth participating in substance-free after-school activities.

2) Launch a digital alcohol prevention campaign to reach most Walpole parents and caregivers with helpful, youth-focused information.

3) Create a peer-led campaign to help change the perception that most Walpole youth drink alcohol and use other substances.

4) Build a team of youth, coaches, and community members to develop a plan that strengthens positive adult-youth relationships and protects against marijuana use.

5) Create a campaign to help parents and caregivers better understand youth substance use trends in Walpole.

Initiatives & Activities

Sticker Shock Campaign

Partnering with local businesses using custom-made stickers to raise awareness and remind adults about the importance of not providing alcohol to minors. This campaign also works to encourage community collaboration.

Community Education

Walpole Prevention Coalition provides community education in a variety of formats. This includes tabling and providing educational and informational materials at local events, providing relevant topic-related presentations to community members, social media, and more.

Social Host Law Information

Walpole Prevention Coalition partnered with Walpole Prevention Coalition to provide an educational and informational session on Social Host Law, what it is, what it means, and why it is important.

Presentations for Youth

We had a speaker come to the two high schools in our town and provide and evidence-based presentation on what dependency and addiction is, how it works in the body, and building resiliency and refusal skills. The speaker tied this in with his own lived experience in a presentation that both students and faculty reported highly positive feedback.

Junior Police Academy

Junior Police Academy is run and managed by the Walpole Police Department and Walpole Recreation Department. This is a week long camp for middle-school aged kids where they learn about the duties and functioning involved in law enforcement, learn about substance use and refusal skills, and engage in physical activity. Many involved in JPA are also members of the coalition, and have in the past invited the coalition to engage in an activity with the students. This program is very popular and well received in Walpole!

Media Campaigns & PSAs

Through our DFC funding, and with collaboration with our MassCALL3 Partners, we have been able to launch and hold several media campaigns, and plan to do more in the future.

Some of our campaigns have included:

PSA discussing the importance of parents talking to their youth about substance use.
Parent social and physical media campaign emphasizing: a) parent to other parent communication, b) parent to child communication, and c) safe storage and monitoring of substances in the home.
Social media campaigns celebrating different awareness weeks

These media campaigns have been positively received and are helpful in driving, awareness, understanding, and action related to substance use prevention and reduction into our community.

See!