National Drug and Alcohol Facts: Week Flint/Genesee County Partnership
Genesee County Prevention Council (GCPC), Genesee Health System (GHS) and Health in Our Hands (HiOH) partnered to plan activities for the National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), March 21 through March 27th. The NDAFW through the National Institute on Drug Abuse is all about “Linking teens to facts that SHATTER THE MYTHS® about drugs and drug use.”
GHS created an infographic linked to a Kahoot! Quiz. The infographic highlighted local data about drug and alcohol use by Flint/Genesee students. Most students reported that they do not use drugs or alcohol. Highlighting these results support a positive community norming approach.The Kahoot! which is a game-based learning platform, questions quizzed the students' knowledge about drugs. These questions were also shared on social media via GCPC and partner Facebook and Twitter pages. HiOH distributed copies of posters of the infographic to share with their teachers at Atherton Jr/Sr High School, Flint Holmes STEM Academy Middle School, and Flint Southwestern Academy.
The NDAFW partnership also created a video to lift youth voices by spotlighting Flint 8th grade students who studied substance use disorder in their science class. The students have just completed the Health in Our Hands (HiOH) curriculum: “How can looking for thrills make me miserable”? The students became very interested in phone use and gaming (video). Their teacher, Ms. Teri Jones organized a Substance Use Disorder Health Summit for students to present their findings and recommendations. Following the Health Summit, the GCPC videographer and HiOH Program Coordinator, interviewed the students about their research question “How does the use of technology affect my well-being?” They surveyed their peers and family members and kept logs of their technology use. They concluded that technology use can have negative effects on their well-being. You will learn about their findings and feedback in the video “Flint Youth Take Charge of Their Well-Being.”
