REVERE CARES COALITION ANNUAL REPORT TO MGH COMMUNITY BENEFITS JANUARY 2006

Like most communities, Revere has substance abuse problems. Unlike most communities, Revere acknowledges its substance abuse problems and is using science-based strategies to address it. That was not the case ten years ago.  What has changed? 

Revere CARES Coalition (Community Awareness, Resources, and Education to Prevent Substance Abuse), a community coalition committed to the reduction of substance use among Revere youth, was formed in 1997.  Residents and community leaders with the support of Revere CARES acted on their concerns about underage drinking and adolescent drug use, joined forces with other parents, young people, city and state officials, and the business community. The coalition turned Revere into a community that not only addresses substance abuse problems head on, but has also made measurable gains in reducing youth alcohol and other drug use.

Coalitions have the capacity to foster and facilitate collaboration.  This makes coalitions a powerful tool to address complex problems like substance abuse.  The following is an example of how Revere, with the support of Revere CARES, is meeting the challenge of substance abuse problems head on.

Revere CARES addresses increase in underage drinking

In 2002 Revere CARES heard an outcry among parents whose children had recently been arrested for first time offenses related to alcohol and drug.  Local data indicated an increase in underage drinking among high school students. The coalition decided to conduct a community awareness campaign on underage drinking in order to change community norms accepting use of alcohol among youth as a right of passage and the “lesser of two evils” next to harder drug use.  The Revere Schools publicly released their data on underage drinking.  The Mayor, Police Chief, and Superintendent all wrote op-ed columns in the local newspaper on the problem.  The coalition held a town meeting on underage drinking, televised on local cable TV.  MGH and the City of Revere partnered to conduct a random survey of Revere adults to learn more about their perception of the underage drinking and the availability and harm of underage drinking.  Working with these community partners, Revere CARES developed the Power of Know message and campaign.  In the end, sponsors of the Power of Know Campaign included the City of Revere and its School, Police, Fire, Recreation and Housing Departments, Chamber of Commerce, Revere Journal, Revere First, Harbor Area D.S.S. office, CAPIC, North Suffolk Mental Health Association, Revere YMCA, MGH Revere HealthCare Center, and Cambridge Health Alliance.  The campaign involved three churches and over 100 volunteers.  The result-in 2004 nine hundred and fifty (950) parents signed the Power of Know Pledge and in 2005 one thousand and sixty parents (1060) signed on as well.  When a large numbers of underage drinkers were arrested in June 2005, the Revere Police Department reported not one call of complaint from parents or community members. The  Revere Public Schools report a thirty per-cent increase in students reporting consequences for use of alcohol or other drugs in school (2005 Youth Risk Behavior).

Revere CARES responds to an increase in use of OxyContin and heroin.

In the spring of 2004, alarm bells were ringing about the increase in OxyContin and heroin use, especially among youth, in Revere. The Revere Fire Chief spoke to Revere CARES staff about his concern that average overdose age was down to16 for females and 21 for males. MGH doctors Eric Weil and Elizabeth Miller raised alarm at the amount of opiate abuse they were seeing in their practices. Statewide and local data showed increases in heroin use.  Revere CARES and MGH Revere Health Center called a meeting on the opiate problem, asking all sectors of the community to bring their data and concerns to the table. The meeting became a rapid assessment involving Cataldo Ambulance, Revere Police, Fire, and Health Departments, MGH Revere, Cambridge Health Alliance, North Suffolk Mental Health, East Pointe Rehabilitation, Chelsea District Court & Probation, Revere Public Schools, among others. This meeting launched the Opiate Task Force that continued the rapid assessment and planning process, and concluded with a final set of recommendations in January 2005.  Revere CARES facilitated this process and then disseminated the final recommendations to members of the community, the full coalition, and the Statewide OxyContin Commission.  Thus far, results include an adolescent intensive outpatient treatment program that has been launched and will open its doors at North Suffolk Mental Health by spring 2006;  an Opiate town meeting held in January 2005 and subsequently broadcast on community cable; exploration of youth court and juvenile drug court models, ongoing education of probation and police regarding the need for screening and treatment, and completion of CRAFFT alcohol and drug abuse screening training by Revere Probation Officer at Chelsea District Court.

The gains seen by the Coalition from 1999 until 2005 have been substantial. Instead of watching gateway drug use increase while statewide rates decreased, the trend was reversed.  Revere’s rates began to decrease along with the state rates. This report will discuss in detail the how this happened, and at the same time will highlight the challenges that remain for the coalition and community. 

Revere CARES is a community coalition committed to reducing substance use, especially among youth, and to building a healthier community. Revere CARES is based on the belief that a community that works together to send clear and consistent messages about substance abuse to teens, offers positive alternative activities, and makes appropriate services available can reduce alcohol and drug use among youth. The Coalition measures its success not only by indicators of substance use, but also in terms of community change that is sustainable for the long term. The Revere CARES philosophy grew out of the basic tenets and lessons of the Healthy Communities movement.  

• The challenge of substance use can best be solved at the community level by changing the environment and community norms within which Revere youth make choices about tobacco, drinking and drugs. 
• The whole community must be engaged and feel ownership of the substance use problem. Only by working together toward a shared vision with a specific action plan can long-term change be achieved. 
• Efforts must build on the many strengths of the community to reduce the risk factors and increase the protective factors related to substance use. 

The Coalition uses research-based strategies including education, counseling and community action to build resiliency among youth.  In this context, resiliency refers to the set of characteristics in young people that enable them to make healthy choices and avoid substance use and other health risk behaviors.  Research has shown that youth can become more resilient as a result of such factors as success in school, a significant relationship with a parent or caregiver, a significant relationship with another adult member of their school or community, and/or involvement in community service.  The Revere CARES program works to support and strengthen all these factors.

The Coalition numbers 694 with 307 active members and includes a growing and diverse group of community members, including:

Financial support for Revere CARES is provided by the MGH and Partners HealthCare Community Benefit programs, the MGH Revere HealthCare Center, and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’ Drug Free Communities Support Program.  The Coalition is staffed by a director, a coalition coordinator, and a youth coordinator.  However, the numerous Revere CARES activities are actually accomplished by the participating organizations and community at large, reflecting their commitment to a comprehensive and sustained effort to reduce substance use among the youth of their community.

Revere CARES’ Measurable Results
The long-term goal of the coalition is to reduce alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use among Revere youth by ten per cent.  Data from the 1997 and 2005 Revere Teen Health Survey, a survey of teen behavior conducted by Revere Public Schools, indicate that the efforts of Revere CARES are having a positive impact in many areas. 

• Tobacco use is declining: 

Among High School Students The percent of youth ever having smoked declined from 70% to 60% (14% decrease).  The percent currently smoking declined from 34% to 26% (24% decrease).
Among Middle School Students:  The percent of youth ever having smoked declined from 54% to 41% (24% decrease)

• Alcohol use is declining:

Among High School Students:  Lifetime alcohol use has remained fairly stable since 1997, the percent of youth who drank alcohol during the past month increased from 51% to 54% since 1997 but decreased from 1999 from 59% to 54% (8% decrease).  The percent ever having been drunk declined from 65% to 57% (12% decrease).  The percent having engaged in binge drinking dropped from 34% to 32% (6% decrease).
Among Middle School Students: The percent of youth who have ever drunk alcohol declined from 59% to 49% (17% decrease)

• Marijuana use is declining:

Among High School Students: The percent of youth ever having used marijuana declined from 53% to 46% (13% decrease).  The percent currently using marijuana declined from 33% to 29% (12% decrease).
Among Middle School Students: The percent of youth ever having used marijuana increased from 20% to 21% during this time but has decreased from 22% to 21% since 1999.

Since 1997 there has been a 60% increase in youth talking with adults about their alcohol and drug use (4% in 1997 to 10% in 2005) Increasing communication between youth and adults about alcohol or other drug use is an important component of Revere CARES efforts to reduce substance use.  Unfortunately, data from the Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by The Massachusetts Department of Education in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, will not be available until spring 2006.  Until the release of the state data, comparisons between Revere substance use rates and rates statewide can not be made.

Revere CARES’ Accomplishments

The efforts of the Revere CARES Coalition have focused on four major areas:

• Community awareness
• Public policy changes/enforcement
• Alternative activities and education
• Treatment and services

Community Awareness
Community awareness consists of two major components: Ongoing media coverage and awareness of the harm of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs and underage drinking campaigns.

• Ongoing media coverage and awareness of the harm of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.  The Revere CARES community awareness work includes newspaper advertisements and op-ed pieces, cable television appearances and the placing of Revere CARES banners throughout the business areas of the city.  The Mayor, Police Chief, and Superintendent of Schools play major roles in community awareness work and the Revere Chamber of Commerce and local businesses have funded many of theses efforts. Revere CARES also maintains visibility and awareness of its work by participating in all major community events and activities.

• Underage Drinking Community Awareness Campaigns.   Revere CARES conducts three underage drinking community awareness campaigns a year: the Sticker Shock, Parents Who Host, Lose the Most, and the Power of KNOW Campaigns. The Sticker Shock and Parents Who Host, Lost the Most campaigns are overseen by the Policy Group and are described in the Policy Section.

• Revere CARES’ primary underage drinking community awareness campaign is the Power of KNOW that began with a survey of 1,500 adults conducted by the MGH/Partners Institute of Health Policy in 2002 to measure their attitudes about adolescent tobacco, alcohol and other drug use.  The purpose of the survey was to determine the need for and direction of the underage drinking community awareness campaign.  The survey was conducted on behalf of Revere CARES in collaboration with the City of Revere.  Preliminary findings from this survey indicated that most residents considered teen alcohol and drug use to be a serious problem and that tobacco, alcohol and drugs are easy for youth to obtain.
• 88 per cent thought teens were either very or somewhat likely to have tried tobacco before age 13
• 75 per cent thought teens were either very or somewhat likely to have tried alcohol before age 13
• 70 per cent thought teens were either very or somewhat likely to have tried marijuana before age 13
• Between 88 and 91 per cent believed it’s very easy or easy for teens to get cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana
• 88 per cent of parents of 11-14 year old teens did not think their child had used alcohol without their permission. 

In the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey over 50 per cent middle school teens reported they had drank and 25 per cent reported that they had been drunk.

Based on the findings of the Community Survey and the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior survey Revere CARES contracted with Education Development Corporation (EDC), of Newton, MA to develop an underage drinking message and an 18 month underage drinking community awareness campaign targeting parents of 9-14 year-olds.  EDC conducted interviews with informal leaders, focus groups with parents, and developed and tested three messages.  Based on the results of the message testing Revere CARES adopted and successfully piloted the following message-- The Power of KNOW:  What your kids  are doing, Who they are with, Where they are,  and When they will be home.  Because you CARE.  Because Revere CARES.

The first Power of KNOW campaign was conducted in 2004.  It was supported by eleven (11) partners and endorsed by the Revere City Council and School Committee.  The campaign started with Mayor Ambrosino proclaiming May, 2004 Revere CARES month.  Forty Revere CARES members marched in the Columbus Day Parade and distributed of magnets and educational materials with the Power of KNOW message.  Community educational pages and columns appeared in the Revere Journal.  Banners were raised in all schools.  During National Education Week, the Pledge Campaign was conducted in all Revere Public Schools.  As a result 950 Revere parents signed the Power of Know Pledge.  Based on the success of the first campaign Revere CARES decided to conduct an annual Power of KNOW Pledge Drive, establish a Power of KNOW Club at Revere High School, and develop a Latino Power of KNOW community awareness campaign.

In 2005 the Power of KNOW campaign grew to include two additional partners; three churches that participated in collecting pledges and members of Revere High School Power of KNOW Club who also participated in collecting pledges. The result--1060 parents signed the Power of KNOW Pledge in fall 2005.

Public Policy Changes
Revere CARES has been instrumental in promoting public policies and their enforcement to ensure that clear and consistent messages about the dangers of substance use are delivered to the youth of Revere.  In 2005, the Policy Committee continued work to reduce underage access to alcohol, document changing community responses to enforcement, planning for and responding to emerging drug trends, and increased regional collaborations to reduce under age drinking and drug use.

Reducing Underage Access to Alcohol

• Restrictions on liquor licenses:  For the past 3 years, the coalition has advocated against beer, wine, and liquor licenses in convenience stores and locations adjacent to parks, youth centers, schools, and other areas frequented by youth. Using standards set by national policy research on limiting underage access to alcohol, coalition members have testified at Revere License Commission hearings.  In 2005, Revere CARES successfully blocked a convenience store liquor license and won restrictions on the license of Showcase Cinemas’ application to install a restaurant and bar within their Revere cinema complex. Additionally, in February 2005 coalition members met with the new License Commission Chairman, License Commission members, and the Mayor, and presented national best practice guidelines.  Since 2003, Revere CARES has been successful in blocking a total of six (6) convenience store alcohol licenses and three (3) one-day beer/wine licenses.

• Parents Who Host, Lose the Most Campaign:  In the spring of 2005, the Revere CARES Policy Committee launched a public education campaign on the civil and criminal penalties associated with hosting teen parties where alcohol is served.  The coalition implemented the successful Parents Who Host, Lose the Most Campaign, developed by the Ohio Parents for Drug Free Youth, with sponsorship from City of Revere, Revere Police Department, Revere Public Schools, MGH Community Benefits, and Revere CARES.  One hundred posters were printed and put up throughout the community at all local package stores and some businesses involved with the Chamber of Commerce. The coalition’s Policy Committee organized a town meeting entitled Parents Who Host, Lose the Most: A Community Conversation on Underage Drinking and Hosting Teen Parties.  A panel of speakers addressed the status of underage drinking in Revere, the effect of alcohol on a young person’s developing brain and body, a parent’s perspective on raising teenagers and navigating these issues, tips on shifting parenting styles as high school students graduate, and the consequences of hosting teen parties, including civil and criminal liabilities. Speakers on the panel included the Chief of Police, a Revere School Health Educator, a local parent, the Principal of Revere High School, and the Assistant District Attorney, Essex County.  Brochures entitled, “Don’t Give Kids Alcohol” were also mailed out to all parents of seniors at Revere High School with reports cards.

• Holiday Sticker Shock Campaign: Revere CARES youth leaders partnered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and local package stores owners on a Sticker Shock Campaign in December 2005. This project aimed to reach people over age 21 who legally purchase alcohol and provide it to minors.  Nine neighboring communities also implemented this project including Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Saugus, and Somerville.  Revere CARES Teen Leaders and coalition staff joined other area coalition youth leaders and representatives at a regional press conference led by MADD and Kappy’s Liquors in Medford.  Then, Revere CARES youth leaders and staff visited Ocean Liquors on Shirely Avenue and Woody’s Liquors on Broadway to adhere stickers to multi-packs of beer, wine coolers and other alcoholic beverages that appeal to underage drinkers. Other participating liquor stores included State Road Liquors in Beachmont and EZ Liquors in West Revere. The regional and local campaign received wide media coverage.

Changing Community Responses to Enforcement

• Changing the culture of enforcement:  When the coalition began its work in 1998, community members and police department representatives reported that traditionally underage youth picked up by the police for first time alcohol and drug related offenses were brought home and not charged.  Over the years, the Revere Police Department has worked hard to change the culture of enforcement and send a clear, consistent message that underage drinking offenses will be prosecuted.  In 2005, the Revere Police took a firm stand against underage drinking. During a busy month of June, the department sent ninety-two (92) juveniles and young adults to Chelsea District Court with violations related to underage drinking.  Compared with three years ago when the Zero Tolerance Policy went into place and one hundred (100) youth were arrested, the community response has changed dramatically.  In 2003, the Chief of Police and numerous other city officials were inundated with phone calls from parents calling for charges to be dismissed.  In 2005, the Chief did not receive any calls from parents.

• Exploring Youth Court Models: Following identification of a juvenile drug court as a priority by the Opiate Task Force in August 2004, a two Revere CARES representatives attended the two-day youth court training sponsored by MA Executive Office of Public Service to learn about youth court models across the nation.  Revere CARES presented on potential youth court models for Revere at the June 2005 policy committee meeting, and members identified next steps.  The coalition is continuing to explore juvenile drug court and youth court options and continuing to build relationships with the Clerks, District Attorney, and Probation Departments.

Planning and Responding to Emerging Drug Trends

• Opiate Task Force: The Opiate Task Force, launched by Revere CARES and MGH HealthCare Center in June 2004, completed is rapid assessment and planning work in January 2005. Final recommendations were developed and presented to the Statewide Oxycontin Commission in April 2005 at Bridgewater State College.  Outcomes of the plan to date include completion of an Opiate Town Meeting in January 2005, advocacy for an intensive outpatient treatment program for adolescents using evidence-based models, exploration of youth court and juvenile drug court models, ongoing education of probation and police of need for screening and treatment, and completion of CRAFFT screening training by Revere Probation Officer at Chelsea District Court.  A co-chair of the Revere CARES  Policy Committee, Dr. Eric Weil was a member of Statewide Commission appointed by Senate President Travaglini. The Commission concluded its hearing process in the fall of 2005, and is currently compiling recommendations.

• Community responses to Methamphetimine: Revere CARES staff researched strategies used by communities across the nation to address problems related to Methamphetimine. A report was presented to the Policy Committee that detailed strategies such as how to identify a meth lab in your neighborhood, how first responders can protect themselves when entering labs, policies to restrict bulk sales of supplies for local production of meth, and campaigns to educate employees of hardware stores and pharmacies on how to identify and where to report the purchase of products intended for Meth production. The committee is currently evaluating the degree of Meth use in Revere, the populations affected, and determining at what point to launch any of these strategies.  The Revere Health and Inspectional Services Department has begun training employees on how to identify a Meth Lab and not to enter it. The Fire Department will receive all tips on potential Meth Labs and follow up.

Regional Collaborations to Reduce Underage Drinking

• Collaborating with Neighboring Community Coalitions:  Recognizing that underage drinking and access to alcohol does not always follow municipal boundaries, Revere CARES has been reaching out to neighboring community coalitions.  Revere CARES called for and assisted in the planning of a regional meeting of coalitions addressing opiate use in January of 2005. Coalition representatives shared their work plans and networked at this meeting, hosted by Somerville Cares About Prevention and facilitated by the Regional Centers for Healthy Communities. Revere CARES also provided information to assist Saugus Speaks Out and Winthrop’s CASA Coalition in their application for Federal Drug Free Communities grants.  Revere CARES linked both of these groups to the Parents Who Host, Lose the Most Program out of Ohio, and Saugus implanted the poster campaign in June 2005 concurrently with Revere CARES.  Malden, Revere CARES, and Chelsea Coalitions shared pharmacy education materials for people picking up OxyContin and other narcotic prescriptions. Finally, due to these contacts and collaborations, Revere CARES and nine (9) other communities including Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Malden, Medford, Malden, Saugus, and Somerville concurrently ran a Holiday Sticker Shock Campaign that was supported and sponsored by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Over the past six years, Revere CARES policy and enforcement successes have included:  (1) passage of local ordinance on smoking restrictions in dining areas restrictions in 2003 followed by passage of Statewide laws around dining and work place restrictions; (2) establishment of an alcohol and drug Zero Tolerance Policy in 2001 developed by Revere CARES, in collaboration with the Revere Public Schools, City Government, North Suffolk Mental Health Association, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office, the Boston Juvenile Court, Chelsea District Court and the Revere Police Department; (3) establishment of a Diversion Program in 2001 mandating six psycho-education groups with clinicians at North Suffolk Mental Health, attendance at two AA meetings, completion of twenty hours of community service overseen by the Revere Police Department; and (4) passage of a youth tobacco possession ordinance enacted by the Revere City Council in 2002, allowing Revere Police to confiscate cigarettes from youth within 1,000 feet of school property and to mandate tobacco education and/or fines.

 
Alternative Activities & Education Revere Youth and Adults.

Education, prevention and positive alternative activities for youth have been documented to prevent high-risk behavior by teens.  The accomplishments achieved by Revere CARES in working with others to create these opportunities include the following:

• An active youth group.  Building youth leadership skills is a key strategy of Revere CARES.  A youth group was established to provide educational and community service activities.  Previously, members participated in educational programs about alcohol, drugs, tobacco, peer leadership, adult/youth partnerships and advocacy; served as panelists for an underage drinking town meeting; spoke at the Night Out Celebration; presented at the U.S. Department of Justice site visit; and mapped community resources.  The Youth Group recognized by their peers for their efforts in the adoption of a public health regulation in Revere to eliminate smoking in dining areas.  During 2005 the Youth Group was re-structured.  A Power of Know Club was established at Revere High School.  Seventeen (17) members were recruited and trained.  In the first year, the Power of Know Club developed, tested, and adopted a youth Power of Know message-- “Power of One, Power of Many, Power of Know”--  and participated in Revere CARES Pledge, Great American Smoke-out, and Sticker Shock Campaigns.

• Mayor’s Advisory After School Group.  Revere CARES has been involved in efforts to increase after-school activities since 1999.  Efforts include the development of an After-School Report with recommendations for a comprehensive school-based after school program following a needs assessment of after school resources and identification of best practices; advocacy for a Revere based YMCA; partnership development to support the growth of the MGH Youth Zone; establishment of the sea kayaking and beach based summer activities for youth; and grant writing.   Recent grant writing efforts led to the formation of the Mayor’s After-School Advisory Group led by Revere’s Mayor Thomas Ambrosino.  During 2005, this group has developed a public/private partnership that includes five private after-school providers, the Revere Public Schools, and the City of Revere. The providers committed an additional 100 after-school slots and have agreed to form a community chest for raising funds to support additional after-school programming.

• Summer jobs.  Revere CARES, working in partnership with Revere Public Schools, the City of Revere and the Revere Chamber of Commerce has conducted four annual Summer Job Fairs.  Each of these job fairs has attracted between 200 and 300 youth and up to 23 businesses and scores of volunteers.   In prior years between 65 and 75 teens found summer jobs as a result of the job fairs.  In 2003 a minimum of twenty-five (25) youth found jobs, a reflection the poor economic climate.  In an effort to better serve the students and the businesses, a web-based summer job bank hosted by the Revere Chamber of Commerce and staffed by Revere CARES, replaced the job fair in 2004.  In 2005 thirty-three (33) businesses listed positions in the job bank.  The goal for 2006 is to expand to job bank to include after school jobs.

• Sea Kayaking & Other Revere Beach Activities.  The Revere CARES Coalition has been supported by many community leaders in its efforts to provide positive alternatives activities for youth.  Massachusetts Senator Robert Travaglini and Revere Mayor Thomas Ambrosino were both instrumental in the development of a Community Boating initiative for youth. During the past four summers, over 220 youth and 120 individuals, children and adults, participated in twenty five (25) sea kayaking clinics and three (3) Demonstration Days on Revere Beach.  Several beach clean-up days were sponsored as part of the program. The sea kayaking program was piloted in the summer of 2001 and was viewed by the community as a tremendous success, both in providing Revere youth with much needed activities and in changing the image of the beach. In 2005, Revere CARES added Exploring Revere Beach at Low Tide, guided beach walks for children ages 4 and up and their families, and Fishing 101 in collaboration  with Save the Harbor, Save the Bay and Point of Pines Yacht Club. An additional ninety-seven (97) youth ages 4 to 13 were served in 2005 through the Beach Walks and Fishing 101.  This summer, the Revere Department of Parks & Recreation will be taking over Sea Kayaking and the other beach activities.

Interventions

 Revere CARES supports a number of strategies to intervene with youth who are beginning to experiment with alcohol and other drugs and to ensure that adequate treatment services are available.  

• Strengthening Families Program.  In 1999 and again in 2003, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health awarded the North Suffolk Mental Health Association, in collaboration with Revere CARES, grants to develop a Strengthening Families Program.  The Strengthening Families program is a science-based skill building program for families with children that focuses on building protective factors among children and young adolescents and their parents or caregivers and reducing family related risk factors.  The goals of the program are to delay the initiation of adolescent substance abuse and reduce substance abuse and other risk behaviors in teens.  With the first three-year award, the Strengthening Families Program served 128 English speaking families and 18 Khmer speaking families with children between the ages of 10-14.  With the second award of five years, the Strengthening Families Program will serve English, Khmer, and Spanish speaking families with children between the ages of 6-12.  Revere CARES staff support the outreach efforts and the Revere CARES Mental Health Services Group serves as the Community Advisory Board for the program.

• High school education and counseling.  A substance abuse prevention and counseling program has been in place at Revere High School for the past seven years.  The program includes a two semester elective course and a variety of counseling programs.  The counseling program serves approximately 130 youth annually, approximately ten per-cent of the high school student population.  It is designed to help Revere teens develop the skills necessary to avoid substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors.  

• Power Source Curriculum: POWER SOURCE: Taking Charge of Your Life by Beth and Robyn Cassarjian is a book/curriculum/program designed to help highly at-risk youth identify their strengths and take control over their lives, while increasing their understanding of the emotions and beliefs driving their high-risk and offending behavior. In conversations with Seacoast Academy students engaged in a summer work program and health education group in 2004, students spoke about a culture of opposition to seeking treatment and lack of trust of adult treatment professionals among their peers. Local psychiatrists and clinicians reported high no-show rates and low retention rates of adolescents. Revere CARES met with ROCA staff and Power Source co-author, Robyn Cassarjian in February 2005.  Cassarjian and the Lionheart Foundation, which disseminates Power Source, donated a sample kit of twenty (20) individual books and two facilitators guides to Revere. The coalition gave these out to local clinicians, school counselors, and others Mental Health Committee members to review. Several clinicians and a Seacoast student responded that this would be a good treatment readiness curriculum. In the fall of 2005, Seacoast Alternative Academy implemented the eleven (11) session curriculum throughoutthe 200 students in their 7th through 12th grade population. The Power Source Program aims to give these high-risk youth effective ways to: (1) acquire basic emotional literacy skills; (2) constructively manage and heal the anger, grief, shame, rage, and other highly charged emotions that often precipitate negative and high-risk behavior; and (3) help youth develop a healthier, more cohesive sense of self and a positive future orientation.

• Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program:  In June and August 2004, members of the Opiate Task Force identified lack of treatment resources for youth under age 17 and those that targeted the specific needs of young adults ages 18 – 24 as a priority for action.  Representative Robert DeLeo, a member of the Task Force, included an earmark for $500,000 in the 2005 Department of Public Health (DPH) budget to launch an intensive outpatient treatment program for adolescents and young adults dependent on opiates and other drugs. Revere CARES staff participated in a series of meetings with the Representative’s office, DPH, and local providers to communicate the Opiate Task Force’s intent in calling for this program. The service is expected to start up in the spring of 2006 with both North Suffolk Mental Health and Dimmock received the targeted assistance contracts from the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, Department of Public Health.

Building Bridges Project.  In October 2005, the Building Bridges Project of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation concluded. North Suffolk Mental Health Association, Revere Public Schools, Massachusetts General Hospital Community Health Associates, and Revere CARES were awarded a three year grant by Blue Cross/Blue Shield to increase access to mental health services for children ages 9 to 13 and their families.  Revere CARES Mental Health Services Group serves as the advisory board and assisted with the community assessment, resource mapping, and project design.  The project included better coordination of existing services, expansion of available services, increase in collaboration and community involvement, publication of teen wallet cards, parent resources guides, and provider information cards, and implementation of the Second Step Curriculum in the fifth and sixth grades in the Revere Public Schools. The Second Steps Curriculum is a science-based program that teaches students social skills to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior and increase their level of social competence. The Revere CARES Mental Health Committee continues its work of raising awareness about mental health and available resources, promoting collaborations between local providers, advocating for increased access, and building parental involvement.

back to top