Written by Eileen Alexander

Prevention Youth Council members volunteered at the Winni Dip, a fundraiser for the New Hampshire Special Olympics.  (Courtesy photo)

A recent study by the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute has found that what students crave most is a sense of belonging and attachment to their communities. Those who feel that sense of community connectedness are much more likely to make healthy choices when they deal with stress in their lives. But how can schools, families and communities empower students to take constructive steps to reach these goals?

One avenue is through the highly successful Prevention Youth Councils, a program of the North Country Health Consortium, where students share ideas, brainstorm, and problem solve around issues like drug and alcohol use, bullying, obesity, smoking, and school violence. In doing so, they develop close connections with their peers, make a positive impact on their communities and learn lifelong leadership skills.

"We have a framework - the Prevention Youth Council - that allows students to learn and share from one another; it provides community connectedness," says Bob Thompson, North Country Health Consortium's Regional Prevention Network program manager. "These kids are developing leadership skills, are concerned about the North Country and are taking positive steps about prevention and school climate. Youth leadership is, in itself, a prevention strategy. Students working together and sharing ideas fosters peer-to-peer connections. When they take their ideas back to their schools it increases their ability to collaborate, brainstorm and problem solve."

During a Prevention Youth Council Regional meeting, Megan Mayers of Gorham High School, Madison Brigati of White Mountains Regional High School and Shannon McGrath of Lisbon High School discussed their flush flyer and table tent choices. (Courtesy photo)

The students are enthusiastic about their involvement in the PYC, their ability to influence other students to make good choices, and the confidence they've gained as both participants and decision makers.

Gorham High School senior Cassandra Poulin has been involved on the regional level with PYC for two years, and prior to that she participated in the yearly conferences that PYC holds. "PYC is a rare opportunity where you go and you don't get judged," she says. "We're on common ground to make healthy decisions and choose a healthy lifestyle."

The PYC, says Poulin, has two missions at her school: one is to plan fun alternatives for students on weekends, like scavenger hunts, and game board and movie nights. The other is both educational and motivational, such as creating flyers, table top displays, and PSAs to educate students about bullying, drinking and drugs. Gorham High also has an Appreciation Station, a board where students can "write really nice things about people; it's blossomed into a nice thing," she says.

"PYC has helped me learn how to work with different types of people," says Poulin, who will attend Southern New Hampshire University in the fall to major in psychology and justice studies. "I used to be strong-headed, but I learned that doing things that way isn't going to make me comfortable with others. Now I put myself out there in a compassionate and easy going way and it's helped."

Jeff Smith, a senior at White Mountains Regional High School in Whitefield, intends to earn a nursing degree when he attends college in September. "PYC affects so many people and changes the face of the community as a whole," he says. "I like to see the changes we've made at our schools and the recognition by state officials. My leadership skills have grown a lot. I've worked in different schools and have gotten thrown into different groups where I didn't know anyone and had to make a presentation. I now run meetings and handle projects."

For one of her college essays, Kathryn Record, a senior at Berlin High School whose goal is to be an occupational therapist, wrote about the PYC and how it changed her life. "It shows people another side of me," she says. "It's a place where I feel comfortable being myself and showcasing my leadership skills."

Asked if she thought what she is doing has made a difference to her classmates, Record acknowledges that some of them are "stubborn" and it can be a challenge to change their thinking and stop destructive behaviors. "I think if we can reach out to the younger population we can be effective," she says.

"I love doing the programs and helping others kids. I like being a role model," says Gorham High junior Zach Host, who plans on a career as a criminal profiler. "PYC was formed by youths for youths. We can divert people to healthier life decisions. It has showed me how to be a leader, how to speak in front of people. It's brought my skills out."

Sean O'Brien, a half-time Project SUCCESS counselor at Lin-Wood Public School in Lincoln who contracts with North Country Health Consortium to serve as the PYC regional coordinator, facilitates the weekly meetings with the student leaders, and meets with the school advisors three times a year.

"The students know what the issues are in their schools," he says. "PYC gives them a sense of belonging, connecting them to both their schools and communities. They want to give back and help their peers as well as their communities."

PYC is planning the annual middle school Youth Leadership conference for early April. "Students organize, plan and facilitate the entire conference," he says. "There will be students from 10 middle schools attending, and the topic will be drug and alcohol prevention. Last year it was improving the school climate. Students are also developing a how-to manual on running a PYC and recruiting students." Other PYC activities include advocacy on prevention issues that affect their communities. An example would be their testimony at the March 11 House Finance Committee Budget hearing at White Mountains Regional High School. Record and Smith were two of the students who stood up and spoke in favor of increased prevention efforts at the state level.

Zach Host of Gorham High School and Kathryn Record of Berlin High School spent some time working on their speeches during a retreat at Merrowvista.

O'Brien notes that North Country schools that have a strong PYC show "great improvement" on substance abuse related measures in the biannual Youth Risk Behavioral Survey. It's evidence like that, along with a comprehensive and effective PYC infrastructure, which attracts funding and has helped PYCs earn a designation as a model program for the state. "We're hoping that at the end of this year, we'll be able to propose to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, one of our key funders, that PYC be implemented in other regions of the state," he says.

"PYC is rare," concludes Poulin, the Gorham High senior. "You aren't going to find the same imperative with sports groups or student government. The common interest in PYC is being nice to people, finding common interests, and becoming a positive influence on others and the community."

Hello everyone!   

Your Alcohol Awareness month materials are here: 2013 Alcohol Awareness Month  (http://drugfreenh.org/families/item/104-alcohol-awareness-month) and ready for download!

You will find a variety of activities in the 2013 Alcohol Awareness Guide to engage your community.  You will also find the NEW social media campaign created specifically for the month with detailed instructions. We hope to get as many people/organizations as possible to participate to make a real impact on the conversations taking place around alcohol during the month. Please let me know if you have any questions about this campaign or how to participate.

We have over 45,000 stickers available for the Sticker Shock campaign if you would like to use the "Thank you" stickers shown in this guide.  You can get those by contacting the NH ATOD Clearinghouse (ATODClearinghouse@dhhs.state.nh.us or 603-271-2677). Buyer Beware Stickers may be available through Greg Gagnon (ggagnon@liquor.state.nh.us)     

Website Banners and other materials you see on the drugfreenh.org website are also available for your use.

Thank you all in advance for making this a great Alcohol Awareness month and for taking part in some/all of these activities!!

Thank you, 

Jennifer Cusato, Director

Partnership for a Drug-Free NH

105 Pleasant Street - Main Building

Concord, NH 03301

jennifercusato@drugfreenh.org

www.drugfreenh.org 

603.496.7481

Northern New England Poison Center sheds light on severe drug abuse in New Hampshire

Adopted from "The Nashua Telegraph" http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/statenewengland/998048-469/substance-abuse-talk-with-regional-poison-call.html-By SAMANTHA ALLEN, Staff Writer

Drugs killed nearly twice as many New Hampshire residents as car crashes in 2011, according to the Northern New England Poison Center, whose representatives said there were 200 drug-related deaths reported by the state medical examiner's office that year.

Laurie Warnock, New Hampshire coordinator for the NNEPC, met with state health professionals and other experts last week at the Division of Public Health in honor of their "poison prevention week" to shed light on over-the-counter substances and their abuse.

She said there are nearly 2.5 million poisoning calls placed every year nationally, and New Hampshire has approximately 10,000 reported poisonings every year. But the number of deaths has more than tripled from the 39 deaths in 1995 to 153 a decade later and to 174 in 2010. The NNEPC maintains this is due to the misuse, and abuse, of prescription medications as well as their growing popularity and availability.  

"Many of us think of drug deaths as street drug deaths," Warnock said. " (But) we're still seeing prescription drugs topping the list, including Oxycodone, Fentanyl and morphine."  

Prescription drug abuse is widely described as an epidemic in New Hampshire and across the country and is high on the list of concerns for doctors, pharmacists and substance-abuse treatment experts.

Warnock said that with the recent legislative session approving a statewide prescription drug monitoring program, making New Hampshire one of the last states to adopt such a program, second only to Missouri, advocates and experts hope this step will reduce the fatalities.

While chain pharmacies like CVS and Rite Aid have typically monitored the issuing of prescriptions within their stores, Warnock said, those programs aren't shared outside the company. A statewide monitoring program would regulate that, on top of several other issues including the abuse of animal medications by pet owners.

Additionally, Warnock said families exercise bad habits in front of their children when it comes to prescription pill handling. A person takes his or her spouse's medication for pain openly, even without a prescription, she said, and costly pills are stored, rather than tossed, and then placed in unsecured locations like medicine cabinets in home bathrooms.

"We'll deal with this over the next 10 or 15 years, especially in small town America," Warnock said. "We're not talking about the big cities."

Warnock also pointed to other available substances, such as caffeine, cough syrup and "bath salts," dangerous chemical compounds marketed falsely as bath salts and incense in convenience stores and online. When smoked, ingested or inhaled, the chemicals can cause psychotic behavior and severe physical symptoms.  

Bath salts and "spice" of this sort were recently outlawed in the state, but Warnock said officials are preparing for a "new wave" of compounds to come forward from manufacturers. She said just one small adjustment to the chemical formulas can allow manufacturers to get around the law and provide a new unknown substance.  

She warned those in attendance for the Concord lecture sponsored by University of New Hampshire's Master of Public Health graduate program to be aware of substances considered benign, even Sharpie markers and 5-Hour Energy drinks now marketed towards young girls with Taylor Swift lookalikes on the bottles.  

"We're getting calls from school nurses, even day care providers, when little kids have gotten into the can of Red Bull that someone has left open on the counter or the little bottle of 5-Hour Energy," she said. "It looks so cute ... so now they're taking it."

The state considered eliminating funding for the NNEPC services provided to New Hampshire last year, but the state put together approximately $600,000 of funding last summer, which will carry the service through July 1.  

Based in Portland, Maine, the call center also serves Maine and Vermont.

Warnock says NNEPC provides a much needed service, where 70 percent of emergency calls placed to the poison control hotline are resolved at home, so hospitals and 911 lines remain clear. For every $1 spent, Warnock said, NNEPC saves the state approximately $13.47 in healthcare costs. If New Hampshire cannot find funding for the hotline this year, they will be the first state in the country to not provide this service to residents.  

Samantha Allen can be reached at 594-6426 or sallen@nashua telegraph.com. Also follow Allen on Twitter (@Telegraph_SamA).    

Past 30 Day Use of Prescription Drugs in the North Country Among High School Students ranges between 5.5% and 9.8%: 

Addiction Epidemic: The Telegraph explores the prescription drug abuse epidemic in the Nashua region. See more stories at http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/topics/addiction-epidemic  

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has scheduled another National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day which will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2013, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This is a great opportunity for those who missed the previous events, or who have subsequently accumulated unwanted, unused prescription drugs, to safely dispose of those medications.

In the four previous Take-Back events, DEA in conjunction with our state, local, and tribal law enforcement partners have collected more than 2 million pounds (1,018 tons) of prescription medications were removed from circulation.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposal, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of these medications.

Shortly after DEA's first Take-Back Day event two years ago, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which amended the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), allowing DEA to develop permanent, ongoing, and responsible methods for disposal. Prior to the passage of the Disposal Act, the CSA provided no legal means for transferring possession of controlled substance medications from users to other individuals for disposal. On December 21, 2012, DEA published in the Federal Register a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Disposal of Controlled Substances. These regulations would implement the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-273) by expanding the options available to collect controlled substances from ultimate users for purposes of disposal to include: Take-Back events, mail-back programs, and collection receptacle locations.

However, until these regulations become permanent, DEA will continue to hold Take-Back Days. The Coalition will be creating flyers for all North Country collection sites as they are confirmed. Flyers will be made available on the North Country Health Consortium website and will be sent out via email.  

For more information, or to check for a collection site near you, please visit:

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/