Programs
Community
Our Community Work
The HPW Coalition works to prevent substance use, improve mental health, and create a drug-free community for Alachua County with three main methods: Reducing access to drugs, educating youth and families, and providing alternative activities. Visit the sections below to learn more about our strategies and programs.
BUILDING A SAFE, HEALTHY & DRUG-FREE COMMUNITY
The HPW Coalition works to prevent substance use, improve mental health, and create a drug-free community for Alachua County with three main methods: Reducing access to drugs, educating youth and families, and providing alternative activities. Visit the sections below to learn more about our strategies and programs.
YOUTH & FAMILY EDUCATION
Interactive programs that teach refusal skills, healthy coping strategies, and substance use awareness for middle and high school students and their families. Programs include: Know the Law, Parent Sessions, Youth Summit, Social Media Campaigns, and Alcohol Awareness Initiatives
COMMUNITY EVENTS
Drug-free activities that bring families together while creating safe spaces for youth to have fun without the pressure to use substances. Programs include: Run for Your Life 5K Color Run, Town Hall, and Friday Night Done Right
YOUTH & FAMILY EDUCATIONREDUCING ACCESS TO SUBSTANCES
Community strategies that reduce youth access to alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs through education, compliance checks, and safe disposal options. Programs include: Compliance Checks, DEA Drug Take Back Day, and Drug Disposal & Safe Storage
Youth & Family Education
HPW raises awareness about the risks of substance use and emerging drug use trends through social media campaigns, presentations, family sessions and more. To educate youth, HPW utilizes interactive activities, trains students on refusal skills and healthy coping methods, and provides opportunities to get involved with the community, including the Youth Coalition. HPW meets students where they are with presentations at schools, community centers, and youth programs, often tailored to the needs of specific populations.
Implemented at middle and high schools across Alachua County with the support of School Resource Officers, the Know the Law course informs youth about alcohol and drug use laws, as well as bullying, theft, and vandalism. If youth are educated about the consequences and risks, they can make smart choices.
HPW participates in various county-wide media campaigns such as monthly newsletters, billboards, radio PSAs, social media posts, and RTS bus wraps to spread awareness.
By reaching parents and informing them about substance use risks, emerging trends, and equipping them with the right tools, families can have positive, healthy discussions about drug use at home. During parent sessions, families are given a free toolkit with conversation guides, alcohol tape, Operation Parent Handbook, and SAMSHA’s “Talk, They Hear You.” Additionally, HPW’s Hidden in Plain Sight backpack challenge gives parents a chance to see how youth are finding innovative ways to hide substances at home. These sessions can be provided to PTA groups, church family programs, and more.
Held during the summer, Youth Summit is an all day event for middle or high school students to learn about substance use, refusal skills, and mental health resources. This event includes an interactive, team competition with prizes based on the information provided during the presentation to reinforce the lessons.
Over the year, the Coalition hosts educational events to address underage drinking. In Spring, HPW attends a rural high school with fatal vision goggles to demonstrate levels of alcohol impairment and test student’s “impaired” motor skills. Students also take the “prom promise” and pledge not to use alcohol or drugs. For college students, HPW hosts voluntary breathalyzer tests in partnership with the Gainesville Police Department in midtown Gainesville. Held on popular drinking nights, this event usually reaches over 300 students and improves their understanding of alcohol impairment levels as well as the risk they pose on the road.
In Alachua County, youth report accessing alcohol or tobacco directly from retailers. Under supervision of the FL Division of Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco, HPW’s Youth Coalition members attempt to purchase products underage and vendors that fail to check IDs receive citations from agents on site. For locations that pass, they receive merchant recognition with certificates and window clings designating them as responsible vendors.
Held each April and October with sites across the county, HPW anonymously collects expired or unwanted prescription medications from the community for free. Law enforcement ensures everyone’s safety while drugs are collected and later safely disposed of for the environment by the DEA.
HPW offers safe drug disposal options (Deterra & RxDestroyer) for free to the community. Additionally, for families with controlled prescriptions that want to keep them secure, SaferRx is available to lock medications at home with a combination keypad. Please reach out if you are interested in receiving these materials, they are distributed at all HPW community events.
Reducing Access to Substances
By reducing underage access to substances such as alcohol or tobacco, both at home and in stores, HPW can lower drug use rates among youth. This includes direct community programs to prevent underage sales as well as safe drug disposal/storage.
Communitys Event
The Coalition offers drug-free community events for students and families to allow youth to have fun without the pressure of using substances. These events also allow for healthy, positive bonding time for families and frequently creates opportunities to discuss substances at home.
Held each September, the annual 5K Color Run is HPW’s largest fundraiser and aims to honor those impacted by the opioid crisis. This event offers a narcan training, a community fair of local resources, and plenty of family fun - including games, six color stations, and raffle prizes.
Open to the community at large, Town Hall welcomes students and their parents to hear from nationally recognized speakers, share their concerns regarding substance use, and access community resources. Taking place in April or May, this free event includes dinner and raffle prizes.
The goal of FNDR is to show youth they don’t need substances to have fun on the weekend, including kickball tournaments, arts & craft stations, tug-of-war games, movies and more! These events often include free food as well as valuable lessons on refusal skills and healthy coping strategies.
Communitys Event
The Coalition offers drug-free community events for students and families to allow youth to have fun without the pressure of using substances. These events also allow for healthy, positive bonding time for families and frequently creates opportunities to discuss substances at home.
Student Feature
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Escape Rooms
As a virtual activity for youth, escape rooms help students learn about the risks of substance use and the importance of mental health. They can be done independently or as a team, themes include Marvel, Clue, Star Wars, and more. Follow the links below!
Run for Your Life 5K
HPW Coalition hosts annual events such as DEA Drug Take Back Day, 5K Color Run, and more. Additional events such as Youth Summit or Friday Night Done Right pop up throughout the year — check our events to see what’s happening near you!