7 Strategies for Community Change: Your Guide to Implementing Environmental Prevention Efforts that Work

Description: Many prevention professionals and community coalitions work diligently in deciding which prevention strategies to implement within their communities. With a plethora of both individual and environmental prevention options, how do you choose, and which ones are going to have the greatest preventative impact on your community? The first step in the process is acknowledging that behavioral health concerns are rooted in vastly complex histories with family, social, historical, economic, and equity influences. Therefore, in order to create community level change, we must agree that our community’s solutions need to be as complex as the behavioral health issues themselves, and that requires prevention professionals to think very comprehensively. One such tool that allows us to do so is the Seven Strategies for Community Change developed by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, though is applicable and easily applied to a variety of different problems of practice. This session will define this framework, with an introduction to both the individual and environmental strategies that can be chosen by a community when determining its comprehensive plan to address the behavioral health concerns in their defined community.

CEUS: Prevention, CHES
Hours: 3
Domains: P4: Community Organization

Learning Objectives:

1. Define the Seven Strategies for Community Change framework.
2. Differentiate between individual prevention strategies and community-level/environmental prevention strategies.
3. Identify a prevention plan for their unique community that incorporates environmental prevention strategies.

Presenters: Ashley Mack & Amy Hamilton

Presenter Bio: Ashley Mack is a Prevention Consultant with You Thrive Training & Consulting, LLC specializing in project design and evaluation, program management, and behavioral health prevention and early intervention. Ashley has worked in the Public and Nonprofit sectors for over 15 years, with the last 6 years focusing specifically in the behavioral health field.  She is currently an Ohio Certified Prevention Consultant and serves as a coach for the Ohio Coaching and Mentoring (OCAM) Network where she specializes in training on prevention relevant topics such as alcohol and other drugs, meeting facilitation, strategic planning, and prevention science. Ashley graduated from Wright State University with a B.A. in Urban Affairs and Nonprofit Management and a Master’s degree in Public Administration.

Presenters Bio: Amy Hamilton has worked in the non-profit and government sectors for over 17 years, with specific expertise in volunteer management, training facilitation, curriculum development, program management, community organizing and coalition development. Amy is a certified Adult & Youth Mental Health First Aid, QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper, PAX Tools, Trauma Informed Care, and Social Resilience Model instructor and has developed local and state-wide trainings on topics including behavior health theories and practice, strategic planning, organizational development, volunteer management, and the utilization of diversity, equity, and inclusion theories. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Work with a minor in Gender and Diversity Studies from Xavier University. Amy also graduated magna cum laude from the University of Dayton with a Master's degree in Public Administration and Certificate in Nonprofit and Community Leadership.