Boone County launches new Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition
Olivia Hayes
EDITOR’S NOTE: AI contributed to background research for this article.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Boone County launched a new Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition on Wednesday afternoon at the Columbia/Boone County Health Department.
This meeting marks the start of a collaborative effort to tackle youth substance use and promote community-driven change, organizers say. The coalition aims to address youth substance use by bringing together parents, school leaders, health care providers, law enforcement, businesses, and youth leaders.
The coalition was formed through the county’s Community Health Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan. During this process, surveys and focus groups were conducted with residents to identify the community’s biggest health needs. Youth substance use was identified as a top concern based on input from nearly 1,800 Boone County residents, leading to the formation of the coalition to address the issue, according to the assessment.
“So if they experiment with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs before the age of 18, they have a 1 in 4 chance of developing a substance use disorder,” said Heather Harlan, the Boone County Health Department’s Health Program Coordinator. “If they wait until after the age of 21, it’s one and 25. I like those odds a lot better.”
The CHA showed that from 2022 to 2024 the number of students using electronic cigarettes in the 30 days leading up to the survey doubled, from 7.6% to 15.5%. The use of marijuana nearly tripled from 4.6% in 2022 to 11.3% in 2024.
The group is focusing its scope on four main goals:
Bringing Boone County together to prevent youth substance use.
Aligning its work in a proven public health approach.
Understanding the problems and opportunities that exist in the county.
Developing a strategic plan.
“Will we end substance use disorders? No, but we can make the numbers go down and that’s what we’re setting out to do,” Harlan said.
According to the National College Attainment Network, building a coalition to deal with public policy offers advantages, including increased influence through strength in numbers and the ability to draw on diverse skills and knowledge. It also minimizes the workload for individual members.
The coalition will utilize local data and develop strategies to address the root causes of substance use.
The group will meet again on Nov. 12 at 1:30 at the Compass Health Children’s Network Center, anyone is welcome to attend.