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Community Forum :: Substance Abuse Click here to download a printable version of the Job & Career Opportunities document



Activities
  • More activities for youth/teens/adults

  • Promote Boys & Girls Clubs

  • Positive activities for youth such as ice rink, Boys & Girls Clubs, neighborhood activities, sports, theatre messages, neighborhood parks, pocket parks

  • Alternative activities for teens not active in sports Community Center similar to SRC broader than Boys & Girls Clubs

  • Attack boredom and depression

Education
  • More education, especially about drinking while pregnant

  • Better information/awareness of drug abuse by students, seniors

  • Education for youth such as asset building, mentoring, officers in schools

  • Work with school district

  • Parent education

  • Parenting test

  • Need to educate healthcare profession (continuing education) such as University of Washington

  • Conference for practitioners in Fairbanks

  • Prevention programs in the schools - proactive approach (similar to tobacco campaign)

  • Incentive programs to educate

  • Prevention - education, community norms

  • Education

  • Good health series in school for understanding this problem (substance abuse)

  • Reassess open campus at High School level

Law Enforcement
  • Better enforcement of laws - methadone labs

  • Better enforcement of licensed premises

  • More resources for enforcement

  • Better coordination between enforcement and treatment

  • More sentencing options - Drug Court

  • Increase better enforcement of DWI Laws

  • Consistent sentencing of DWIs

  • Police in the schools

  • Enforce current laws

  • Bring appropriate justice

  • Increase police referral

  • Incentive programs instead of punitive jail time

  • Decrease access to substances - taxes help, hours stores are open, increase sting operations to catch illegal sales, close bars earlier, decrease number of liquor license numbers available

  • Enforcement of underage usage of alcohol and cigarettes (some type of community monitoring)

  • Enforcement of our current laws

  • Enforcement

  • Redefine acceptable drinking level

Public Awareness
  • Community awareness of addiction

  • Assembly/council members need to understand the problem

  • Corporate culture promote

  • Expand family prevention programs within hospital, non-profits, etc. to create positive self-esteem

  • Provide a deal on entertainment or something of interest in order to get attention of group to provide prevention information (Incentive Programs)

  • Community engagement

  • Build on sense of community

  • Change community norms on alcohol

  • Educate EVERYONE

  • Neighborhood trained volunteers who could interact with their neighbors

  • Better community network

  • Media advocacy

  • Education for whole community (not just incarceration)

  • Make issue a higher priority within community

  • Stamp out irresponsible messages regarding alcohol, tobacco, drugs (media, TV, radio ads)

  • Newspaper articles emphasizing needs and the providers in our community who offers what and for whom

  • Drunk driving is socially unacceptable

  • Inform public on what district does for education on this subject

  • More car crash visuals

Taxation
  • Increase alcohol tax - dedicated tax

  • Local tax

  • Tax (paying for it in health insurance)

  • Alcohol tax currently used for other purposes ear mark it for treatment programs (like tobacco dollars)

  • Increase price, decrease access

  • Alcohol tax - fund 24 hours/7 days a week drivers for FNA detox

Treatment
  • Treatment on demand

  • Monitoring the effectiveness of services

  • Access to resources to help get people treatment

  • Treat as illness

  • Develop central resource place and follow up

  • Readiness

  • Residential treatment for young people

  • Treat it as an illness, recognition of ongoing recover/treatment

  • Regular medical check up program

  • Hindered by cost, lack of insurance coverage

  • Specific clinic (like cancer center) so patients aren't lost in regular system

  • No continuity between programs, need to improve to assist with court ordered treatment (such as FCF and North Star)

  • Better programs within jail

  • Need for resources for treatment program

  • Need more facilities to get rid of three-month wait list

  • Substance abuse pervasive in child abuse family violence, need to deal with it before you can address secondary issues

  • Hospital doesn't serve as a detox unit, one is needed

  • Activity-based recovery programs, primarily for kids, possibly adults

  • Steady funding source, allow sufficient time to prove its usefulness/measurable outcome (ongoing evaluation)

  • Coordination of services to deal with multiple problems/issues

  • Coordination between mental health and substance abuse agencies, recognize dual diagnoses

  • Individuals who can facilitate a family member or assist someone in getting to treatment - an advocate for the family member in getting through the system

  • Interaction between agencies in Fairbanks, schools could be a gathering place for agency information

  • Public Health Nurse can offer mentor, house call

  • More intermediate detox

  • Too few treatment options - need timely, efficient, effective care, access (insurance)

  • Remove stigma of treatment

  • Community Action Plan - Chronic Inebriate Program

  • Drug Court - Programs similar to Nevada that seems to be positive, program utilize detox acupuncture which could readily be used in Fairbanks - cheap and easy

Other
  • Faith community

  • What does healthy community look like?

  • Change the actions of the people who are abusing thru EDUCATION

  • FNA's drivers staffing

  • Focus on alcohol/drugs - NOT ethnicity (stereotyping - equal opportunity problem)

  • Brain drain - to leave is the best idea

  • Family time versus busy schedules, parent taxi to help each other (marginal fit elsewhere)

  • Tolerance

  • Focus on positive

  • Address apathy

  • Could hospital help pay for drivers (save money on low emergency room costs)

Click to access additional Community Forum priorities:
Affordable Medical/Dental Care | Family Violence | Infrastructure Planning | Job & Career Opportunities



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