SAFE Coalition Member Attends National Prevention Network Conference

The National Prevention Network conference was held September 12-14, 2017 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County. The conference was three days, complete with keynotes, breakouts, and networking opportunities. The conference theme for 2017 was Rooted in Tradition, Strengthened by Science, Evolving the Field of Prevention.

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 Opioid Crisis; working with the Faith Sector; Project Amp: The Role of Young Adults in Recovery in Preventing Adolescent Use; Advancing Prevention in Times of Transition; the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health: A Focus on Prevention; utilizing Win-Win Collaborations; the mixing of alcohol and benzodiazepines; SAMHSA’s Prevention Resources; Youth Marijuana Use: New Research Prevention Strategies and Public Health Challenges; Social Media in Substance Abuse Prevention: Tools for Creating a Social Media Plan; and Preventing Marijuana Use through School Based Interventions and Youth Led Social Norm Change. For more information on the SAFE Coalition please call 319-293-6412 or email at info@vbsafecoalition.com.