FY 2004 Continuation Drug-Free Communities Support Program

The Shaker Heights Health Department is the fiscal agent for the Shaker Coalition to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse. The coalition serves Shaker Heights, Ohio, a suburban area with a target population of 30,000 of which approximately 40 percent are African-American. The goals of the coalition are to: 1) reduce and prevent measurable use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs among Shaker Heights youth and; 2) strengthen collaboration among communities, nonprofit agencies, and federal, state, and local government. In order to achieve these goals, the coalition will implement the following strategies:
1) monitor youth substance abuse through community wide monitoring utilizing the Centers for Disease Control Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS);
2) sponsor youth intervention and peer mentoring programming;
3) provide substance abuse awareness, education and training to students, teachers and parents;
4) support advanced health curriculum to educate high school students on health, preparing youth participants to co-teach Life Skills Training to middle school students;
5) expand SHARP (Student Health Advocates Reaching Peers), by making it a year round activity and recruit additional students for membership;
6) support the new Tobacco Licensing Ordinance and conduct tobacco licensing compliance checks; and
7) recruit and strengthen community coalitions.
CA/NCF