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St. Anthony/New Brighton Community Prevention Coalition 31 3303 –33'd Avenue •St.Anthony,MN 55418.612/706-1036 Mission and Background The mission of the Community Prevention Coalition (CPC) is joining together to create an environment that encourages safe and drug free lives for youth. Our goal is to support healthy development and resilience in young people, so that they will be able to withstand the pressures to use and abuse alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs. Our objectives are to: • initiate, coordinate,facilitate, support and enhance programs, activities and services that combat substance abuse and violence among youth and families. • mobilize all elements of the community including parents, schools,churches, city government, law enforcement, civic groups, businesses and social service agencies in accomplishing our mission. CPC was established in 1997. Since that time ACTION (Adults and Children Together In Our Neighborhoods), a nonprofit organization whose work is centered in St. Anthony Village and New Brighton, has served as fiscal agent for CPC. Need Drinking, incidence of violence, and social isolation are all risk factors for young people. We find evidence of all of these problems among youth in St.Anthony/New Brighton.ACTION's Search Institute Survey done in this area found that between 26 percent and 47 percent of 10`h through 12`h grade students have used alcohol. In focus groups done in our community (see below),parents were asked to name the issues that challenge them most; "underage drinking"was the most common response. According to the same survey,30 percent of 6 h through 12`h graders report being victims of violence, and 46 percent report spending excessive amounts of time home alone and unsupervised. What We Do Both CPC and ACTION (Adults and Children Together In Our Neighborhoods) bring together schools, civic organizations,faith-based groups and community members—young people and adults—from School District 282 and the St. Anthony Village/New Brighton area to plan and undertake activities that improve the lives of all residents.The chief focus of CPC is on youth activities that take place in the schools and in the community. Among many projects in the past four years, CPC has: • Supported the activities of Students Against Drinking and Drugs in the district's middle and high schools; • Supported annual respect retreats designed to help 6"and 91"grade students address issues that can make an impact on them throughout their lives (e.g., communication,respect, class and community spirit, and breaking down cliques and factions); • Facilitated connections between families and their children's schools through newsletters, parent meetings and speaking engagements; • Helped to create a skateboard park; and • Sponsored an intergenerational theater project to provide a summer-long, safe and affordable activity for youth in which they built relationships with community members beyond their age group and grew as people, building confidence and discovering new skills. CPC's work plan for the next three years grows out of: • the work it has done on its own and with ACTION in the past several years; • surveys of young people(by the Search Institute and the Minnesota Student Survey); and • focus groups involving both young people and adults.