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In 1996, members of the Revere community joined with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the MGH Revere HealthCare Center to conduct a community health assessment. At that time, Revere had twice the state rate of admissions to public substance abuse treatment facilities and about twice the state mortality rate from substance abuse related illnesses (MassCHIP data, Massachusetts Department of Public Health 1996). Revere residents identified alcohol and other drug use as areas of prime concern in that community health assessment and in February of 1997, they formed a community coalition to address the problem of substance use. In April of 1998, tragedy struck. Six young adults in Revere died from drug overdoses within a three-week period. The community was directly confronted with the magnitude of the substance use problem and the impact it was having on the lives of children in Revere. Students pointed to the mixed messages Revere kids were receiving from family and the community at large about drug and alcohol use. Some teens perceived their parents as accepting underage drinking as “the lesser of two evils” compared to drugs. Young people described many situations where there had repeatedly been no consequences for their actions related to drug and alcohol abuse. Coalition members reviewed data from local police departments that indicated that the rate of underage drinking arrests was significantly lower in Revere than in other communities with similar abuse patterns. The Coalition members committed themselves to working together even more intensively to address these problems and formally identified themselves as The Revere CARES Coalition. The Revere CARES (Community Awareness, Resources and Education to Prevent Substance Abuse) Coalition has been working together to change the culture and social norms regarding tobacco, alcohol and other drugs so that young people will make positive choices to avoid substance use. Supported by Massachusetts General Hospital and Partners HealthCare Community Benefit Programs, the Revere CARES Coalition serves as catalyst, convener and facilitator for community-wide efforts to develop and implement strategies that are visible, measurable and effective. These strategies have focused on public policy changes, programmatic interventions, and education, prevention and alternative activities. |