Register now for the seventh annual Ohio Adult Allies Summit! This event will be held virtually on December 2nd from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Registration fees have been waived for this year, making this event more accessible than ever. The theme, Creating Opportunities for Youth to Lead: Engaging Young People During Times of Crisis, speaks to the challenges and opportunities youth-led programs have and will continue to have addressing complicated problems in their communities. With sessions ranging from culturally competent service delivery to engaging youth and communities in virtual settings to messaging on the value of youth-led programs, this is one virtual conference you won't want to miss.

Grab a coffee, tea, or water and join us for a conversation about youth-led prevention: from energizers to empowerment on Wednesday, November 11th at 10 a.m. Special guests Cheryl Sells and Kevin Rigby from Youth to Youth International will join us for this topic.

Grab a coffee, tea, or water and join us for a conversation about race, equity, and the role of prevention on Wednesday, November 18th at 10 a.m. Special guest Dr. Terrance Dean from Denison University will join us.

Couldn’t attend the last coffee klatsch? Can’t remember what it was our special guest said? Don’t worry, you can view recordings of several coffee klatsches and other videos from PAA on our YouTube channel.

The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s annual National Leadership Forum will take place as a virtual event next February 1-4, 2021. Early bird registration is open until December 31, but youth and adult scholarship applications close at noon tomorrow, October 30, 2020.

Whether you’re looking forward to a host of webinars to learn about the latest trends in coalition work, substance misuse trends, or mental health or if you’re gearing up for virtual legislative advocacy appointments with your elected official, be sure to check out the scholarship application and registration information on CADCA.org.

In addition to CADCA's scholarships, Prevention Action Alliance, with funding from OhioMHAS, is pleased to offer ten scholarships for coalitions to attend the upcoming CADCA National Leadership Forum. This scholarship opportunity is open to any coalition leader, staff member, or officer in Ohio and will provide 100% of the registration cost (based on the $425 early-bird member rate.) Full details, including how to apply can be found on SurveyMonkey.

The ADAPAO Conference 2020, Racial Justice: The Prevention Intersection will take place November 9–13. This conference will feature experts in prevention, cultural competency, and racial and social justice providing insightful, applicable education and skill development to conference participants.

Conference registration is $50 for 2020 ADAPAO members and $75 for non-members. Registration details and additional information are available at ADAPAO's website.

Ohio's Coaching and Mentoring Network (OCAM) is providing a limited number of scholarships. Request a scholarship or learn more by emailing Christi Valentini-Lacker.

The 18th Annual Ohio Problem Gambling Conference, coordinated by PGNO and sponsored by Ohio for Responsible Gambling, will be held virtually through Zoom each Tuesday and Thursday during March 2021, to align with Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

The conference will once again feature national experts, state leaders, and local innovators in problem gambling prevention, intervention, treatment, recovery, research, administration, and responsible gambling. Anyone with a professional or personal interest in problem gambling, mental health treatment, the gaming industry, or prevention strategies will find the content to be captivating and highly informative.

PGNO is seeking presentation proposals for the conference. The intended audience for the conference includes prevention, treatment, recovery, operators, and regulators. Applications are due December 4, 2020, and PGNO will notify presenters by January 4, 2021. Presenters will receive complimentary registration, Continuing Education, and other benefits.

Learn more about presenting, including recommended topics, at PGNO’s website.

Contact Cory Brown at [email protected] or 614-750-9899, Ext. 104 if you have questions about presenting or the conference.

Communities throughout Ohio and the United States rely on us at Prevention Action Alliance to provide them with resources and expertise to help them prevent drug misuse and promote mental health wellness. In turn, we rely on our dedicated staff to carry out that mission. Do you want to join a team of passionate professionals working together to improve health and wellness?

We're currently looking for a community prevention manager.

The community prevention manager will be responsible for managing various projects by assessing the needs, planning, budgeting, implementing, evaluation, and completing all required reports for the projects. This manager will oversee the implementation, management, and grant deliverables of The G.A.P. Network, Ohio College Initiative, and a statewide marijuana education campaign.

Reshawn Smith is a part of the Ohio National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and is working with Prevention Action Alliance as a civil operator. Reshawn’s background in prevention includes serving as an advocate in training for several years within the Ohio Army National Guard Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Program. Reshawn has played a major role in providing soldiers with required annual trainings and the tools and resources to prevent the occurrence of sexual assaults within the Ohio National Guard through increasing awareness and educating all service members about sexual assault frequencies in the military and the prevention of sexually-based incidents while also protecting the rights and dignity of victims.

In his role at Prevention Action Alliance Reshawn will be working with the Statewide Prevention Coalition Association and Know! Tips for Parents—and we are excited to have him here!

Gretchen joined Prevention Action Alliance in 2020 and serves as the Prevention Coordinator for The G.A.P. Network. After serving on The G.A.P. Network’s Advisory Council for four years, Gretchen brings her passion and experience to focus on increasing The G.A.P. Network’s outreach by providing informative and inspiring monthly newsletters, coordinating exciting and educational conferences, and collaborating with appropriate local organizations to provide The G.A.P. Network materials to their members and associates.

Gretchen is currently a Registered Applicant with the Ohio Chemical Dependency Board and is earning her CDCA certification as well as a prevention certification. She is also completing her associate degree in Health and Human Services and plans to complete her bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

We get it.

Teleconferencing is hard even if you can do it in pajamas (from the waist down).

We've made the choice to host all events for the foreseeable future as virtual events. By creating alternatives to large, indoor gatherings, we can play our role in the prevention of COVID-19's spread. At the same time, however, "Zoom fatigue" is a real problem. Thankfully, Harvard Business Review has the article (and gif, see above) that you need to combat Zoom fatigue, stay focused, and stay healthy.

Prescription drugs are meant to help us, but their misuse can hurt us. In the last edition of this newsletter, we shared a Know! Tip aimed at the three steps you as a parent can take to protect your family from prescription drug misuse.

This new Know! Parent Tip—Know! To Bust the Myths to Prevent Teen Prescription Drug Abuse—shares the three facts every teen should know about prescription drug misuse and how parents can instill values of healthy decision-making in their children.

Even though alcohol is illegal for those under the age of 21, millions of teenagers are able to get their hands on it every year. According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 7 million people ages 12 to 20 drank alcohol, and 4.2 million of them binge drank. With millions of teens drinking, it begs the question: where do all these teenagers get alcohol in the first place?

This webpage shares information, including current statistics and data, about the problem of social hosting as well as the harms of underage drinking and what parents and coalitions can do to prevent underage alcohol use.

Most teens who drink don't pay for alcohol, which means that of-age adults are giving alcohol to teens for free. This is unhealthy, unsafe, and unacceptable, and it's also illegal and why we created Parents Who Host Lose The Most.

Advertisements are all around us, we simply cannot avoid their reach. What we can do is teach people how to critically analyze the messages that they receive.

This is why we created the Big Bowl Vote, to give youth a voice in how ads impact them and to give educators the resources, strategies, and a teachable moment for teaching media literacy. After 10 years of Big Bowl Votes, we’ve found that youth consistently rank alcohol ads among their favorite ads shown during the Super Bowl.

Last year, Bud Light featured Post Malone in an ad that was voted young people’s favorite—even as older audiences ranked it 15th. In the ad, Post Malone, a rapper whose work was featured in a Spider Man movie, can't decide between Bud Light and Bud Light Seltzer. His indecision leads him to knock over shelves in the store, destroying products in a humorous battle for control over his brain.

Advertising alcohol to youth is no laughing matter, however. We encourage you to join us as we continue to advocate for youth's health and wellness by taking part in this year's Big Bowl Vote.

Advocacy is the act of lending your voice to improve the lives of others. At Prevention Action Alliance, we believe everyone has a role in prevention, and everyone can be an advocate for prevention.

Every week, we publish an update on legislative news at the state and federal level, share resources for prevention advocacy, and opportunities for you to advocate for Ohio's families and communities.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions?