PreventEd

Community-based prevention: Prevented is designated by the Missouri department of mental health (dmh) as a prevention resource center to provide training and technical guidance to community coalitions focused on drug and alcohol prevention. We currently serve 28 coalitions utilizing the strategic prevention framework and assisting with grant opportunities. This team also delivers substance-related presentations and trainings throughout the community. These include the youth mental health first aid (ymhfa) and teen mental health first aid (tmhfa) programs that teach individuals how to respond to mental health concerns or crisis with young people. By partnering with schools, Prevented delivered tmhfa to more than 1,400 students in the eastern Missouri region in 2023.

Certified peer specialist services: since 2021, Prevented has piloted a certified peer specialist (cps) program in two of our rural service area counties (franklin and lincoln). This program employs individuals with substance use disorder lived experience that are currently in long term recovery and have completed cps training. The cps assists individuals struggling with substance use in accessing treatment services, completing treatment court, finding ongoing recovery support and other resources such as medical care, employment and housing. Last year, cps staff served 134 individuals.

School-based prevention: k-12 classroom lessons Prevented offers a menu of over 30 evidence-informed and research-based prevention programs/curricula delivered in school settings to build resiliency and leadership skills, and change student knowledge, attitude and behavior to reduce substance use and misuse. Most of these programs are delivered in 4 lesson series. Peer-to-peer programs are also offered that teach groups of high school students to facilitate programming with their peers. In 2023, Prevented served over 55,000 students in over 230 schools throughout Missouri's eastern region.

Guided adolescent early intervention program: the guided program provides young people with a robust substance use assessment, followed by brief counseling and support services that include academic support (tutoring), mentoring and educational workshops for teens and their caregivers. Prevented partners with local school districts, juvenile offices and other social service agencies to refer students for the program. Parents and other caregivers can also connect directly with Prevented. In 2023, 127 adolescents participated in the guided program.

Opioid education: Prevented provides opioid overdose prevention trainings to individuals and groups throughout Missouri. These trainings are facilitated in-person, virtually and through a self-paced video series. Naloxone (narcan)-the opioid overdose reversal medication- is distributed at no-cost to those at risk of experiencing or witnessing an opioid overdose. Prevented strives to reach more community members directly by supporting local grassroots community organizations in neighborhoods with high overdose rates to assist in narcan distribution. In 2023, 13,602 doses of narcan were provided to individuals.

Substance use assessments and referrals: Prevented's highly qualified substance use professionals provide in-depth substance assessments for adults and adolescents, offer unbiased referrals to treatment and provide other resources when indicated. The counselors respond to all telephone calls to our helpline and provide substance use resources. Services are facilitated in-person and through telehealth options. In 2023, Prevented provided 456 adult assessments.