Project Description Narrative:
Alcohol and other drug (AOD) misuse has repeatedly been identified as a community health priority in Oconto County with 28 percent of adults reporting excessive drinking and one in four high school students reporting using prescription drugs without a doctor's prescription. While workgroups have formed in the past to address this issue, a lack of coordinated direction and collaborative planning has prevented movement to action and AOD misuse continues to be a community health priority. To effectively address this community-identified health need, partners engaged the community at large to come together and identify root causes of AOD misuse in Oconto County. To move to action, this project aimed to engage diverse stakeholders to develop an initial infrastructure and action plan to support the sustainability of the Oconto County alcohol and other drug misuse workgroup to address the identified root causes of community awareness and education and culture change.
Project partners: Active workgroup members: Alliance for Wisconsin Youth, Bellin Health, Bellin Psychiatric Center, Hospital Sisters Health Systems, St. Clare Hospital, Libertas Treatment Centers, Oconto County Health & Human Services Board, Oconto County Public Health, Oconto County Unified School District, Oconto Falls Schools District, Tri City Area United Way, Volunteer community members
Additional supportive members: Oconto County Reporter, Oconto Falls Police Department, three additional local school districts