ASAP of Anderson County

ASAP of Anderson engaged community partners within the 12 sectors for advancement in the prevention of substance misuse in Anderson County, Tennessee through awareness, education, and policy change. For the first time in almost 10 years the state has not seen a significant increase in deaths from year to year with 2022 seeing just a 0.3% increase from 2021. East Tennessee has the highest number of deaths of the grand divisions with 43%, however Anderson County saw the fourth-largest decrease in overdose deaths in the state. With increased education, training, and distribution of naloxone we are seeing positive trends in these numbers as we come together as a community to combat the opioid epidemic. During our 2020 administration of the TN Student Survey, 32.7 % of Anderson County students surveyed said that the use of vapes (excluding marijuana containing) would pose a slight risk to no risk at all to someone's health, 11.5% of high school students in Anderson County report it is fairly easy or very easy to get alcohol, and 22.2% of high school students in Anderson County perceive non-medical use of prescription drugs as low risk. Through a targeted approach to collecting process indicators that will provide a continuous record of inputs and work accomplished we are implementing (SMART) planned activities for each component of the Eight Strategies to Affect Community Change.