Winooski Partnership for Prevention

The Winooski Partnership for Prevention prevents substance abuse by educating and empowering Winooski.

Our Work

The Winooski Partnership for Prevention looks at how substances are being promoted, where they are available, and how they are consumed as the starting points for successful community intervention. For example, ubiquitous alcohol and tobacco advertisements foster positive attitudes toward use and lead to viewing excessive use as a cultural norm. We work to assist the community in reducing the amount of youth-targeted alcohol and tobacco messages and thus reduce youth consumption of these substances. Reducing youth consumption n turn increases the number of youth who arrive at adulthood free of this burden, able to focus on building the lives they imagine.

One of the ways we do this is to provide the skills, knowledge, and practice that youth use to become advocates for positive community change that supports the health of all community members. Winooski Above the Influence (ATI) is the name of an after-school group that meets once a week at the local school and works with students who want to become voices for healthy choices and community change. The group is led by the Winooski Partnership for Prevention’s Youth Engagement Coordinator. As part of this group, students gain valuable leadership skills as well as connect with other students who share similar values.

Finally, another central strategy we use is the sharing of credible, factual information with youth, parents, and the community. Credible information is the first step in the process of community change, and having access and understanding reliable and up-to-date facts about the impacts of substance use on the developing brain, marketing of substances, and availability from a local, trusted source can positively impact community and teen behavior.