Drug Free Dickson Coalition

The Drug Free Dickson Coalition was founded in 2012 and is made up of volunteers and community leaders who are concerned about the issue of substance misuse in Dickson county. Our mission is to reduce and prevent alcohol, tobacco, and Drug abuse in Dickson county, through awareness, education, and action, particularly among our youth. Dfdc seeks to unite the community in the development and implementation strategies to prevent and lessen the progression of substance misuse in all ages. We work closely with our school system and the juvenile court. We have established a nicotine cessation program for our youth along with a monthly education and awareness class on the dangers of vaping nicotine and thc for both parents and students. The staff became life skills facilitators and have been able to implement this evidence-based program in our middle schools. We host educational events for parents including our hidden in plain sight program. Hidden in plain sight is an interactive presentation for parents who may be confused or concerned by changes in their child's behavior. The program educates parents about how teens and preteens use everyday items to hide evidence of risky behaviors. The presentation is a mock setup of a teenager's bedroom and items are hidden in plain sight all around the room. Our facilitator teaches parents how to become more curious, observant and involved-and how to respond when they uncover something that is hidden in plain sight. We were also able to host fun interactive programs for youth during spring, summer and fall breaks, including a skateboard workshop. This program consisted of 5 lessons with guest speakers on substance misuse, vaping, underage drinking and risky behaviors. Each child who attended received a Free skateboard and beginners lessons. In october 2023, we hosted our 2nd annual recovery fest. This event was to help unite the community in recovery efforts and to break the stigma that surrounds addiction. Eight agencies were represented on the planning committee that worked months to create this event. There was an estimated attendance of 1500 with over 70 vendors. We expect even bigger things at the 2024 recovery fest. In 2020 Dickson county was chosen as one of seven counties in Tennessee to launch the Drug endangered children program. The Tennessee alliance for Drug endangered children approach is comprehensive, focusing on the formation of community-based partnerships to engage professionals from multiple disciplines in developing a collaborative approach to rescue, defend, shelter, and support children living in Drug environments. Since then, dfd has worked educating law enforcement, children services, educators and the community on Drug endangered children and how we can lessen the impact of substance misuse on our most vulnerable population. The Drug Free Dickson Coalition's recent cost/benefit analysis from catalyst evaluation group shows that for every dollar invested in prevention in Dickson county, 4.05 in public burden spending is saved. The return on investment for prevention dollars spent in Dickson county is 4.05 or 405%. Through our evidence-based programs, we have seen a 18% reduction in substance use in our youth. Catalyst evaluation group, 2024, tn together student survey, 2023