Mobilize the Community

The Minnesota Department of Education (1992) identifies the following strategies to involve the community in prevention efforts:

• "Establish a community-based prevention task force.

• Collect community data to monitor trends in alcohol and other drug use.

• Pay attention to racial/ethnic factors in creating prevention strategies.

• Use data to plan, evaluate, and modify prevention efforts.

• Provide consistent and frequent messages discouraging use.

• Place emphasis on changing adult alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, attitudes, and behavior." (p. 13)

"Each of these is particularly crucial, since it is becoming increasingly clear that prevention efforts are much more effective when multiple sectors of a community collaborate with schools in planning, monitoring, and delivering prevention services." (p. 33)