Freida Carbery of Dayton has been named Nevada Prevention Fellow. As an organizer for the Dayton Food Bank through the Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey counties, Carbery has engaged dozens of community volunteers in the region.
The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Prevention Fellowship Program is run through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The program was launched in 2006 and includes 45 Fellows throughout the U.S. It aims to develop and sustain a well-trained and knowledgeable cadre of prevention professionals who exemplify the principles and best practices of substance abuse prevention.
The two-year Prevention Fellowship Program builds competencies in diverse areas of public, behavioral, and allied health practice. In addition, Fellows have the opportunity to develop critical research, writing, evaluation, and presentation skills. Through participation in activities, field work, and training, Fellows forge a strong network of peers and public health and behavioral health professionals who can sustain their professional growth.
Working closely with Christy McGill of Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey and Charlene Herst of SAPTA, Carbery is undertaking a number of projects with associated milestones, objectives and outcomes guided by state-of-the-art prevention practices. This direct, hands-on experience is reinforced by intensive online and in-person training that focuses on the following areas:
— Substance abuse prevention across the life span
— Community prevention planning and service delivery at the State and community level, including coalition building
— Data, evaluation, and alcohol, and drug epidemiology
— Environment prevention strategies, systems change, and service delivery
— Social marketing and substance abuse prevention
Prevention Fellows Hosted at National Conference: Participants in the two-year Fellowship program were hosted at the 23rd Annual National Prevention Network Research Conference in Denver, CO in August, 2010 and participated in a three-day pre-conference training experience as well. Representation from the various states that participate in the Fellowship included Carbery.
The National Prevention Network (NPN) is an association of alcohol and other drug abuse prevention professionals. The NPN provides culturally appropriate guidance and leadership to national, state, and local prevention efforts to reduce the incidence and prevalence of alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) problems.
The goal of the NPN conference theme, “Reaching New Prevention Peaks with Diverse Partners” was to acknowledge that those within the prevention field must reach out to other human service and health care programs and practices in order to bring about an integrated system of care. Prevention is taking a primary focus not only in behavioral health, but also in health care reform. The conference gave the Fellows an opportunity to discover how diverse partnerships can be formed, nurtured and sustained.
Those attending also had the opportunity to hear from national leaders from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the U. S. Department of Education, and the Native Congress of American Indians.
Charlene Howard and Charlene Herst of SAPTA, and Christy McGill and Quest Lakes of Healthy Communities Coalition also attended the NPN Conference this year. At the next public meeting of Healthy Communities Coalition on Oct. 14, McGill and Carbery will give an overview of the latest research on integrated systems of prevention that create “prevention prepared communities.”