Winona County ASAP

Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

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Join ASAP in the fight against youth alcohol use and abuse during April – AKA: National Alcohol Awareness Month! 

Throughout the month of April, Winona County ASAP will be sharing “Alcohol Fast Facts” on their social media @ASAPWinona! We encourage you to share these with your friends, family, colleagues, and more. 

We’d also love to hear why YOU choose not to use alcohol and other substances. Send and share with us your answers on social media or via email for a chance to be featured on our website! 

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To learn more about alcohol use in Winona County, head to our “Drug Use Data” page.

Want to know what else we’ve done to combat youth alcohol abuse in Winona County? Click here! 

Still need more info? Click here for more facts about alcohol. 

 

Smoking, Vaping, and COVID-19

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How does Vaping or Smoking put someone at greater risk for contracting COVID-19?

We did the digging so that you don’t have to! 

Photo Courtesy of: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/teens-vaping-and-coronavirus-is-there-a-connection/

This week, ASAP has received several emails regarding COVID-19 and how it relates to our efforts to reduce smoking and/or vaping in our community.

“Evidence suggests that, since smoking is harmful to the lungs, smokers who are exposed to the virus are likely to have more severe problems than nonsmokers,” says Molly Moilanen of ClearWay Minnesota. “It is more important than ever for commercial tobacco users to have access to quitting resources, so they may possibly reduce their risk of serious complications if exposed to the virus.”

The same can be said of E-Cigarette/Vape users. “Studies show adverse short-term health effects of using e-cigarettes on cardiovascular and lung health,” Moilanen reminded communities. It is known that people are at greater risk for contracting and experiencing life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19 if they suffer from lung and cardiovascular issues (such as asthma, COPD, or heart disease). By “vaping,” you are adding unneccessary stress to your organs that need to be in prime condition during this time in our country. 

If you are struggling to make the change and quit tobacco, there are people to help! Free smoking/vaping cessation services are available from the following organizations: 

 

 

Want to know more about the basics of E-Cigarettes and Vaping Devices? Check out our resource page for more information as well as tips on how to talk to your youth about it! 

What Does ASAP Have in Common with COVID-19?

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What do Winona County ASAP and COVID-19 prevention efforts have in common?

Quite a bit, actually!

Although Winona County ASAP works to prevent youth substance abuse and the world is currently preventing the spread of a virus, there is one thing these things have in common. Can you guess it? 

Yes – it’s prevention! 

Below is the Strategic Prevention Framework model – also known as “SPF” for short. Follow along as we break it down step-by-step and relate it to both COVID-19 and Winona County ASAP!

Step 1: Assessment

  • For ASAP: We assess our community’s substance abuse problems through survey and data collection and evaluation. 
  • For COVID-19: Our health department and healthcare workers assess how many people are exhibiting symptoms and determine where or who they may have contracted the virus from. 

Step 2: Capacity 

  • For both ASAP and COVID, professionals are at work determining our county’s capacity for addressing the issue. Do we have the partnerships we need? What about supplies and personnel? 
  • ASAP’s partnerships look like volunteer commitments and staff, whereas COVID looks upon our local healthcare providers and establishments for help. Funding also plays a key role here. 

Step 3: Planning 

  • What needs to be done now, and who is going to do it? 
  • For ASAP, we develop an “action plan” for each fiscal year answering those questions. From tabling to presentations, everything is planned far in advance. 
  • For COVID, this is our lawmakers and hospitals working diligently to lay out a plan of action to address this crisis head on. 

Step 4: Implementation 

  • This is the act of performing prevention work. It’s the laws being put in place and the Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) being delivered every day. 

Step 5: Evaluation 

  • Did what we do worked? This can be measured by new surveys or studying hospital records.
  • While we do this every year (sometimes more frequently!) for ASAP, we aren’t here yet for COVID. 

As you can see, there is a lot more that goes into prevention work than meets the eye. Keep this in mind as we all navigate COVID-19 and remember to give everyone a little grace. 

Stay tuned for more blogs and fun quarantine activities coming to you on our website and social media! 

Monthly Board Meeting

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The Leadership Team, or Board of Directors, meets on the third Monday of every month. Our next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 18th from 2:30-4:00 pm. These meetings are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend! Due to COVID-19 this meeting will be held virtually through Zoom.

Please send an RSVP email to [email protected] stating that you would like to attend and we will get you the login and password.

MEETING ATTACHMENTS:

Contact the Program Coordinator with questions at 507-474-2727 or [email protected].

Join our next Coalition Meeting

The ASAP coalition meets monthly to create strategies for addressing the drug and alcohol issues in the Winona area. These meetings are open to the public, and we invite your input and ideas!

Learn More

Our partner:

CADCA

Funded by:

Drug Free Communities