Prevention Alliance of Tennessee Hosts Day on the Hill in Nashville, TN

On the Hill: Rescue 180’s Assistant Director, Keith Shultz and Andrew Farmer, State Representative for TN House District 17, serving portions of Jefferson and Sevier County.

Rescue 180 recently attended PAT Day on the Hill. Substance abuse prevention professionals joined from across the state to highlight the presence of coalitions and the great work that is being done in communities.

This is the first annual Day on the Hill organized by the Prevention Alliance of Tennessee (PAT) that represents substance abuse prevention coalitions across Tennessee. PAT advocates for policies and environmental change that facilitate substance abuse prevention.

Rescue 180 is one of over 50 community-based prevention coalitions in Tennessee that works to reduce the prevalence of alcohol and tobacco use by underage youth along with reducing the misuse of prescription medications and other illicit drugs. Coalitions bring together diverse partners from all sectors of the community to identify factors and systems that facilitate the misuse and abuse of substances and develop evidence-based comprehensive strategies to address the issues impacting their community.

“Our mission statement confirms that we are to be a ”voice of positive force, changing a community one day at a time,” states Rescue 180 Executive Director, Rev. Debra Shultz. “Our goal is to become such a strong force that we decrease our substance abuse problems, and we have begun to see these results. In 2015, the countyhealthrankings.org health statistics confirm our county’s risky alcohol use has been cut in half, and our adult tobacco use is down to from 40%, to 26%. It takes collaborative efforts on every scale: from county, to state and national levels. Rescue 180 is involved in all aspects of substance abuse awareness campaigns and educating our communities, as well as legislators, about the negative consequences of substance abuse.”

The impact of coalitions is evident. Student surveys conducted statewide indicate a marked decrease in the use of alcohol by individuals between the ages of 13 and 18 and a significant drop in tobacco use by 13-17 year olds. Meanwhile, a sharp increase in marijuana use by adolescents as well as a slight but startling rise in the rate of prescription drug misuse underscores the necessity of prevention programming in Tennessee.

Many coalitions are funded by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services but are largely reliant on support from individuals and organizations in the communities which they serve.

For more information, visit www.tncoalitions.org, or www.Rescue180.com.