WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON POLICY?
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center is looking for your insight! The IPRC is considering expanding its policy and advocacy support for Indiana individuals and communities. Before embarking on this effort, we need more information from you! Weâre interested in understanding your current engagement in the state policy process, the resources you currently use, and what we can do to help you and your community in this arena. Weâd love it if you could take a few minutes to complete this short survey to help us out!
Click here to take the policy survey.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Kathleen (kathleen@indiana.edu)
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Upcoming Trainings
September 19
Introduction to Trauma Informed Care Training*
September 20
Seeking Safety Training (Trauma EBP)*
September 28
Marketing and Communication Planning Webinar
Visit the Training Portal for descriptions
and to register.
While youâre there, take one of our FREE courses. CEUs available.
* Register at www.ipgap.indiana.edu. |
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Resource of the Month
Overdose Lifeline (ODL) is an Indianapolis-based nonprofit, founded in 2014, that is "dedicated to preventing opioid deaths and reducing the stigma of addiction." ODL was founded and is led by Executive Director, Justin Phillips. Indiana families, individuals, and communities affected by addiction identify this organization as their voice. ODL works to prevent prescription opioid misuse and heroin use and death across the state. Programs and initiatives of the ODL are focused on addressing the opioid epidemic and the chronic disease of addiction through education, harm reduction, prevention, resources and support.
Overdose Lifeline's goals are straightforward: to reduce the stigma of addiction and prevent opioid deaths. ODL works on multiple fronts to accomplish them. One large initiative is naloxone training and distribution. ODLâs work with Indiana legislators allowed Aaronâs law to be enacted, expanding access to Naloxone across Indiana without the need of a physicianâs prescription. Their distribution and training services are for anyone, and currently, programs are created specifically for first responders and the public. ODL also develops educational programs and training for businesses, communities, educators, families, healthcare, law enforcement and others. Their educational programs include the âThis is (Not) About Drugs,â an outcomes-driven youth opioid prevention program which incorporates the NIDA risk and protective factors. This educational program is designed for students grades 6-12 and aims to raise awareness of the risks of misusing prescription opioids while providing skills to combat peer pressure and resources for making decisions about their own health. ODL further works to support communities affected by opioid overdoses by hosting a support group for individuals recovering from an overdose loss. Future endeavors for ODL include more prevention efforts, such as a Prescription Drug Safe Storage and Disposal Program and Give Me a Reason Youth Drug Testing program. ODL also intends to focus efforts to assist individuals and families in achieving a healthy and successful life of recovery.
ODL hopes to continue spreading their services and resources throughout the state and welcomes volunteers to join their efforts. To learn more about the services or opportunities available at ODL visit: www.overdose-lifeline.org
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6 Tips on Making your
Day More Productive
Almost everyone could benefit from a boost in energy and self-control. The morning hours are when most people have the highest self-control and resulting productivity. The idea though isnât to do all of your work in the morning but instead, focus on the right type of work earlier in the day. The tips below are suggestions which can help you increase your productivity and help creative a positive tone that lasts the entire day.
Create a good morning routine. There are numerous tasks that one can incorporate into a morning routine that can increase one's productivity throughout the day. While certain activities might be more beneficial for an individual's goals or interests, just having a routine itself can assist in this productivity as well. Some proven options could include drinking lemon water, writing, and avoiding screens until breakfast. Drinking lemon water first thing can give you a natural energy that can propel you through the rest of the day. Writing early in the morning allows your brain to warm up and get a jump start to your tasks for the day. Avoiding screen time is a good practice to get into, so you can hone in on yourself, rather than disrupting your focus with technology or social media.
Clean your workspace. A clean workspace makes a large difference in your ability to concentrate, according to Princeton University. Clutter at your desk draws your attention away from the task at hand. Having things where they need to be and cleared away allows you to work without distractions and to find things as you need them, preventing a loss of focus.
No e-mail until youâve eaten 3 frogs. The frog in this tip is a reference to a Mark Twain quote where he recommends eating a live frog first thing in the morning as it would be the worst thing to happen that day. In terms of your productivity, the frog would be a task that requires a high level of concentration that you are not wanting to do. Getting three of these tasks done in a timely manner and then checking your email will allow you to be more productive. Email generally wastes mental energy and can be time consuming, so by removing burdensome tasks ahead of time, it will save time later when you are mentally exhausted.
Assign times to your to-do lists and check yourself. To-do lists are helpful in keeping your tasks organized and making sure to not skip something important. In order to gain confidence and control from your goals for the day, it should be realistic to accomplish them, and it would be beneficial to think through a general plan for when you would be able to complete them. With to-do lists, though, it can be easy to postpone tasks because all you are doing is ensuring they get completed at some point. By adding a time component to the to-do list, it ensures you can monitor your progress. By having the timeline with your to-do list, it helps you to prevent procrastinating and providing motivation throughout the day.
Keep morning meetings on schedule. Morning meetings can be a big time waster, and it can interrupt an otherwise productive morning. Attending morning meetings may be something you have to do but that does not mean you have to let that meeting drag on. Noting at the beginning of the meeting that you intend to stick to the schedule can help to keep people motivated and efficient with their time. If you are able to keep the morning meeting on track, it will help you keep the rest of your day on schedule as well.
Donât multi-task. Sometimes, it feels like you can accomplish anything, and you may try to do three things at once. If everything does get accomplished, it makes you feel confident that multi-tasking worked. Research proves just the opposite. Of those who stated they were great multi-taskers in a study out of Stanford University, when actually looking at their productivity, it was lower than those who focused on one task at time. It was noted that participants took longer to switch from task to task and lost focus easily. Multi-taskers also had trouble organizing their thoughts and filtering out irrelevant information. It may seem like doing multiple things at once may save time, but in the long run, it could be beneficial to stick with one thing at time.
More Details Resource
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Staff Spotlight
Abbey Jones, who has been at the IPRC for almost a year, was recently awarded the IPRC Graduate Assistant (GA) Assistantship, which is provided for the 2017-2018 school year. She works for both the Evaluation and Indiana Youth Survey teams. Her proudest work accomplishment was when she presented evaluation report findings to a community completely on her own. Abbey considers that to be an important moment since she was able to work on her public speaking skills and increase her confidence for future projects. Since Abbey works on a few different projects, Abbey utilizes virtual to-do lists to make sure she stays on top of tasks. Her best work tip is to use the Sticky Note application on your computer instead of the paper sticky notes. She keeps them on her computer background, so she constantly sees them, plus there is not the added clutter that is associated with the paper sticky notes.
Abbeyâs philosophy is to find something you love to do and do it, so you never really have to work. It is important to her to do something she loves every day, even if it is tough at times. In her free time, Abbey enjoys attending IU basketball games and participating in outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking. She considers air conditioning to be the greatest invention ever and would prefer to have it on year-round if she could! Random fact about Abbey: she is part cow. Due to a birth defect, Abbey was part of a clinical trial where she was fitted with a cowâs vein to work as a heart valve.
âNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
âMargaret Mead
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INTEGRATING PRIMARY AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE THROUGH THE LENS OF PREVENTION CONFERENCE
Pictured above are IPRC employee Albert Gay (left) and Dr. Joel Bennett (right) of
the Organizational Wellness & Learning Systems (OWLS). Dr. Bennett is a book
author and designer of some of SAMHSA's National Registry of Evidence-based
Programs and Practices (NREPP) prevention programs.
Albert Gay recently attended the second annual Integrating Primary and Behavioral Health Care through the Lens of Prevention conference. The conference was held in Fort Worth, Texas and occurred June 27-30. The motivation behind the conference is to improve behavioral and primary health outcomes by integrating these outcomes with the science and practice of prevention across public, private and community sectors. One of the major goals listed in the program guide was ââ¦to set the stage for the development of a new definition of prevention that traverses existing silos from substance use disorders, mental health and physical health.â
At this four-day event, conference attendees learned different methods that could be used to incorporate prevention into integrated healthcare nationwide. Professionals learned how they could promote conditions and services that improve quality of life for both individuals and communities. Additionally, a variety of resources, such as plenary sessions, panel discussions and workshops, were offered that addressed questions surrounding policy initiatives, clinical practice, administration, implementation, research, evaluation and education.
Albert Gay provided his positive feedback on the conference, explaining that, "The conference was insightful as it gave insight on ways in which to engage primary health care with mental health promotion and substance use prevention. We heard from many experts that have successfully brought primary health care and behavioral health together through strategic alignment of goals and desired outcomes. In most instances, data was used to raise awareness to key stakeholders within primary health care. Hospital administrators and physicians were informed of substance use, mental health disorders, and suicidality and how the overall costs for those patients are significantly higher when these problems are present and untreated. Overall, the conference showed how the division between primary health care and behavioral health care are reducing because of effective partnering at the community and governmental levels and how continued championing of blended services should be offered to patients and community members for the best outcomes of overall health."
Individuals were encouraged to attend this conference and future ones if they wanted to learn from leaders in the fields of prevention, primary care and behavioral health care, while sharing personal field experiences and expertise with colleagues.
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Community Corner
The Merrillville Drug Free Community (DFC) Project is in its 2 nd year of the 5 year grant they received from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. They have had many accomplishments over the past two years, including but not limited to, successful media campaigns, youth-focused events, Town Hall Meetings, increased coalition capacity and staff and member training.
During this past year, the Merrillville DFC project graduated from CADCAâs National Coalition Institute, a three week intensive workshop focused on completing 5 deliverables for the coalition. The picture above shows
General Arthur T. Dean, Chairman and CEO of CADCA, Amanda Morrison, LCSAC Program Manager, Albert Gay, LCSAC Chair, Fran Harding, Director
of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and Carton Hall, Deputy
Director Training & Technical Assistance at CADCA being presented
with the plaque at CADCAâs Leadership Forum.
This past year, they also worked closely with the three other DFCs in
Northwest Indiana, Gary, Porter, and LaPorte, to complete a Marijuana
Public Service Announcement, as all four DFCs were working toward
reducing marijuana use among youth, but wanted to work together to
create a campaign, so the message could be saturated in Northwest
Indiana. Please click on the link to see the PSA that has been running
in the Merrillville AMC Movie Theater for three months. A brochure with additional resources related to the PSA is forthcoming.
During Alcohol Awareness Month and Orange Ribbon Week,
Jessica Crusor, former DFC Coordinator, was instrumental in partnering with the local Boys and Girls Club, to bring in nationally renowned speakers,
Chris Sandy and Jayden Maxwell to speak to over 75 youth, ages 6-18 about the dangers of underage drinking. Chris Sandy is a nationally recognized speaker on alcohol awareness, DUI prevention, and choices and consequences. Jaden Maxwell is a former marine and talented illusionist
who has performed for celebrities such as Beyonce, Anthony Hopkins, and
the former president, George W. Bush. Jaden also performed on âAmericaâs Got Talent.â Vendors were also there to discuss positive alternative activities that are available to youth with their parents.
To read more about this community, please go to http://drugs.indiana.edu/about-iprc.
Thank you the great efforts of the Merrillville DFC Project!
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September 10-16, 2017 â National Suicide Prevention Week
September 10 th through September 16 th is National Suicide Prevention week for this year, and September 10 th is World Suicide Prevention Day. The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) has been the official sponsor of National Suicide Prevention Week since 2011 and are focusing on suicide prevention and awareness. AASâs efforts are directed at increasing education about risk factors such as suicidal thoughts, while also spreading awareness specifically about suicide, providing resources to help with addressing risk factors and prevention strategies, as well as educating the public on the fact that suicide is preventable. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) with the World Health Organization is hosting World Suicide Prevention Day. The theme is âTake a Min, Save a Lifeâ and is focused on raising awareness that suicide is a major preventable cause of premature death on a global level.
According to the CDC, more than 42,000 people died by suicide in 2014, ranking it the 10 th leading cause of death overall. Among ages 10 through 44, it is the number two cause of death. In many of the cases, family members and friends are left dealing with their loss in private. Stigma and shame can prevent those dealing with the loss (often called âsuicide loss survivorsâ) from speaking openly and reaching out for assistance in coping.
National Suicide Prevention Week is an effort to address all of these concerns as a community and shed light onto a difficult topic. Everyone is able to benefit from having an open and honest conversation about mental health and suicide. Recently, attention has been given to suicide more so than in previous years in part due to pop artist, Logicâs, recent song release. He has used his experiences with anxiety and suicidal thoughts to create his song, â1-800-273-8255â which is the number for the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The difference between Logicâs song and other mentions of suicide in pop culture is that Logic specifically addresses reaching out and getting help, something few artists have addressed. Logic recently performed his song on the MTV Video Music Awards, and CNN reports that the Suicide Prevention Hotline noted a spike in calls for several hours after the performance (Tinker, 2017). For resources to host your own Suicide Prevention event during National Suicide Prevention Week, check out the American Association of Suicidologyâs website.
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Risk and Protective Factors
A total of 8,059 students 18-25 years
of age from 23 Indiana colleges participated in the Indiana College Substance Use Survey conducted in Spring 2021.
