Drug Prevention in My Community: Drug Prevention in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Drug Prevention in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
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This paper discusses the substance abuse problems in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States, and the drug prevention strategies necessary to eliminate this.
Overview of the Substance-Related Abuse Cases
In an issue from The Brown and White, Kwiatek (2019) reports that there were 224 opioid overdoses with 11 deaths registered by the Bethlehem Police Department (BPD) in 2018, majority of these comprise the Whites with over 120 users, around 80 are Hispanics, and the rest are Blacks and other minority groups. Additionally, approximately 80% of the cases are males. Since 2015, the area reported steadily increasing numbers where there were 78 overdoses reported. The following year, the area reported 109 opioid overdoses with 8 deaths. Persons between 25 and 34 have been victimized by opioid addiction, says the BPD report CITATION Kwi19 \l 1033 (Kwiatek, 2019).
Current Drug Prevention Program
There are currently Drug Prevention Centers in Bethlehem, and one of them is the Clean Slate Outpatient Addiction Medicine Center. It is an accredited center that offers help for alcohol addiction and drug abuse cases by providing telehealth or in-person consultation and therapy. CITATION Clend \l 1033 (Clean Slate, n.d.).
Suggested Drug Prevention Strategies
Universal Intervention: Life Skills Training (LST) Program. LST Program is designed for middle school students to teach them skills to increase their protective factors by providing them sufficient information or education and personal and social skills development training (NIDA, 2020). It is a three-year program that includes 15 core sessions from level 1 to level 3. Additionally, it conducts preventive violence strategies that classroom teachers teach. Other components of training include social and resistance (drugs) skills and self-management. Evaluation is done using return demonstration and feedback CITATION Blu18 \l 1033 (Blueprints, 2018). To prepare for this, the following step-by-step process must be done: 1) Evaluate the cases in the community.; 2) Create a written proposal for the local government and schools with clear objectives; 3) Coopera...