GCAT Sponsors Rx Box with mayor, GPD and Board Of Health
GCAT, a project of Luk Inc. has purchased a prescription drug Drop Box through agreement and partnership with the Police department, board of Health and the mayor. The Drop Box is for ALL RESIDENTS OF GARDNER and is availible 24-7 to drop unused, expired Rx of all kinds at the GARDNER Police Department LOBBY.
Questions about the BOx and its use can be directed to the Police non-emergency line, or the Board of Health. Other inquiries can be directed to afeeley@luk.org.
Did you know...
- Nearly one in five teens report abusing prescription drugs to get high (Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 2006).
- One third of all new abusers of prescription drugs in 2006 were 12 to 17 years old (SAMHSA, 2008).
- Over half of teens say they abuse prescription painkillers because the medications aren’t illegal; one in three believes there is less shame attached to using prescription drugs than illicit drugs. (SAMHSA, 2008).
Where Do Teenagers Get Prescription Drugs?
- Sixty-four percent of youth ages 12 to 17 who have abused pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives, often without the other person’s knowledge. (SAMHSA, 2008).
- More than 60 percent of teenagers say prescription pain relievers are easy to get from the medicine cabinet at home. Half of teens say they are easy to get through other people’s prescriptions; and more than half say prescription pain relievers are “available everywhere” (Partnership for a Drug-Free America, 2006).
The Gardner Community Action Team (GCAT) is a coalition of youth and adults dedicated to the prevention of underage drinking, tobacco use and the abuse of prescription drugs. The coalition has recently completed a number of successful projects in Gardner. These include the development of a youth anti-tobacco group, and a 2011 advertising campaign informing young people of the real-life statistic that the majority of high-school-aged students choose not to use alcohol. GCAT is a program of LUK, Inc.
GCAT believes that the addition of a prescription drug drop box, if utilized by the community will reduce access to commonly abused prescription drugs in the Gardner community. The addition of a permanent drop box at the Gardner Police Department represents collaboration between the GCAT, the office of the Mayor, the Gardner Police Department and the Gardner Board of Health. It pays tribute to a shared vision for a healthy and safe Gardner.
What Is A Community Action Team?
LUK, Inc.’s Community Action Team (CAT) represents an initiative, funded by DPH Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, to help organize and mobilize select communities to reduce rates of underage drinking. CATs utilize a model known as Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol (CMCA). Local data is used to inform activity selection. CATs look for trends in both school and police data. After identifying local trends, CATs plan activities from a menu of interventions with each option designed to decrease underage access to alcohol or to increase community awareness. Community teams monitor their actions by conducting surveys and/or examining the data for new trends. If/when selected activities don’t contribute to desired changes, CATs may adjust their respective action plans.The CATs employ environmental strategies to prevent underage drinking. Environmental strategies focus on increasing community protective factors while deceasing risk factors that influence underage drinking.
Strategic Prevention Framework
Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) is a five step process (see below) developed by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to assist communities in building the infrastructure necessary for effective and sustainable prevention of substance use and abuse. Programs currently funded by BSAS in Massachusetts utilize this framework.SPF: The Five Step ProcessStep 1: AssessmentStep 2: Capacity BuildingStep 3: PlanningStep 4: ImplementationStep 5: monitoring and evaluatingKey Principles of the SPF· Follows a Public Health Approach· Focuses on change for entire populations (collections of individuals who have one or more personal or environmental characteristic in common)· Considers an entire range of factors that determine health· Is outcome-based· Follows a strategic planning process· Uses data throughout the process to make informed decisions.
CATs In Action
While each CAT is unique, they share common approaches, group maintenance functions, and responsibilities to BSAS. Shared group maintenance functions:
Agenda setting
Meeting facilitation
Minute-taking
Common responsibilities to BSAS to a shared set of activities (some examples include, but are not limited to):
Compliance Check
Shoulder Tap
Social Host Liability Training
Sticker Shock
One-on-one Interviews
Compliance Check
A Compliance Check usually involves the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABCC) or the local Police Department. The purpose of the compliance check is to make certain that establishments selling alcohol are checking identification and selling responsibly according to Massachusetts State Law requirements. To complete a compliance check, preplanning is conducted around the partnership between CAT team members and out-of-area youth. The youth enter alcohol vending establishments and attempt to purchase alcohol. If the bar, restaurant or liquor store finalizes the transaction between the vendor and the youth under twenty-one years of age, the youth must walk with the item in hand and give it to the officials waiting outside the establishment. The youth reports the outcome of the transaction to the ABCC/officers and identify the establishment employee who served them. This person is informed by a ABCC/local Police Department representative that they have just committed a crime. A citation is immediately issued to the person and/or the establishment under the name of the license holder.
Shoulder Tap
A Shoulder Tap campaign involves youth (specifically anyone under twenty-one years of age) in association with liquor store owners and the local Police Department.To perform a shoulder tap, the youth position themselves outside the entrance door of a liquor store establishment and ask customers hypothetically: “We are under the age of twenty-one and cannot buy alcohol ourselves. If we were to ask you to buy us alcohol would you?” Depending on the answer from the customer the youth themselves would issue the person either a “YES” card or a “NO” card, along with a short verbal explanation about why purchasing alcohol for youth is wrong and against Massachusetts State Law
Social Host Liability Training
Social Host Liability Training is an activity usually accomplished in cooperation with the District Attorney or the local Police Department. The training includes reviewing the laws and regulations of regarding serving alcohol to minors on personal property and the liability that comes from alcohol being served on one’s own property without owner awareness. The District Attorney/local Police Department reviews the consequences of the Social Host Liability Laws.
Sticker Shock
A Sticker Shock campaign is an activity that involves adults and youth under age twenty-one entering stores to help raise awareness of underage drinking. With permission from the liquor store owners, youth and adult volunteers enter stores and apply stickers, specifically targeting cases of beer, and all alcohol beverages (excluding single bottles). The sticker must not obstruct the label. The stickers say things like “Hey You! It’s Illegal to Provide Alcohol to Anyone Under 21” and “Buyer Beware Don’t Provide Alcohol for Kids.”
One-on-One Interviews
One-on-One Interviews are an integral element of the CAT project. In a One-on-One Interview, a designated CAT member asks a series of questions to members of the community to get insight into the community at large. The questions are also designed to raise awareness and solicit feedback on project activities.
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