SAFE Coalition Member Attends National Prevention Network Conference

The National Prevention Network conference was held September 13-15, 2016 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center in downtown Buffalo, New York. The conference was 2.5 days, complete with keynotes, breakouts, and networking opportunities. The conference theme for 2016 was Advancing a Prevention Agenda in an Era of Health Systems Reform.

The National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference (formerly called the NPN Prevention Research Conference) has a long-standing history. The first conference was held in 1988 in Kansas City, Missouri and has been conducted on an annual basis ever since in various cities around the country. Over the years, the conference has grown in size, hosting 700-1,000 participants.

The National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference hosts federal, state and local professionals from the substance abuse prevention field and related disciplines. Participants included: prevention providers, school personnel, government agency representatives and directors, law enforcement personnel, policy makers, coalition leaders and members, counselors, health education specialists, social workers, and high school students.

The purpose of the National Prevention Network (NPN) Conference is to highlight the latest research in the substance abuse prevention field. It provides a forum for prevention professionals, coalition leaders, researchers, and federal partners to share research, best practices and promising evaluation results for the purpose of integrating research into prevention practice.

The SAFE Coalition participant attended sessions that encouraged the coalition to focus on the following: the Strengthening Families Curriculum; Awareness around the dangers of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems for Youth; the dangers of alcohol use in youth – even just sips at home with parents; the use of social media to break up parties; recent studies that have been completed to determine the risks of marijuana use; the DEA’s 360 Strategy and SAMHSA’s Prescription Drug Misuse Portfolio to address the Rx Drug and Heroin Crisis; and MDMA/Ecstasy/Molly and the dangers it poses to youth. For more information on the SAFE Coalition please call 319-293-6412 or email at info@vbsafecoalition.com.