Recipient Organization
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY
886 CHESTNUT RIDGE RD RM 202
MORGANTOWN,WV 26505-2742
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
West Virginia University will increase the resilience of youth in high-risk rural communities through delivering direct eduction to youth, faciitation of outreach/engagement of parents and community members, and capacity development and supportfor teachers/educators. This project will be conducted in Braxton and Mercer Counties at partnering school sites. It will include the delivery of the Botvin Elementary Program, the Don't Mess with Rx medication safety program. Additionally, the team will facilitate teacher, parents, and community education utilizing the TRAIN program and family engagement strategies.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goal:The West Virginia Healthy Heroes: Building Resilience for Bright Futures initiative aims to increase protective factors for youth and families impacted by substance use by building addiction resilience in high-risk, rural communities. Objective 1: Increase protective factors and reduce risk factors for high-risk youth through direct education. Objective 2: Increase the capacity of educators to deliver evidence-based programs to at-risk youth. Objective 3: Increase knowledge relating to addiction, its impact on family systems, and the effects of stigma.Objective 4: Increase collaboration between schools, communities, regions, and the state among those impacted by addiction.
Project Methods
This project seeks to build upon the work of West Virginia University's 2022 Rural Health and Safety Education (RHSE) grant project titled, Building Addiction Resilience in School Communities, which focused on middle school students, and their families, school, and community. The "West Virginia Healthy Heroes" initiative will be delivered in two counties of service (Braxton and Mercer) that have grown strong county-wide partnerships and systems of support through the Building Addiction Resilience in School Communities initiative. The new program will work to develop and initiate direct education for children, families, school personnel, and communities at the elementary school level in a nearby school community. By utilizing this model, the project team will be able to capitalize on the existing momentum and support from partners including the county boards of education, county-wide prevention organizations, family support services, and others. The proposed program will include direct delivery of Botvin Life Skills Training (LST) to 4th and 5th grade students at partnering school sites and the delivery of the suite of Project TRAIN resources, and family engagement focused on medication safety, overdose prevention, and locating resources in a concentrated community-school model, with the goal of further ameliorating the impact of familial addiction on children via early engagement.The suite of Project TRAIN resources currently includes training and resource kits for K-12 teachers, community groups (churches, civic organizations, clubs, etc.), adolescents (6th-12th grade), and camp leaders (generally called "tracks"). Each of these tracks can be offered face-to-face or via synchronous distance learning. For the proposed project, the Extension county-based faculty will work individually with each elementary school and community to establish the most appropriate delivery format for that community and to select which TRAIN tracks are most indicated. It is anticipated that several state-wide synchronous distance learning opportunities will also be offered.In addition to the Project TRAIN resources, we propose to provide Botvin LifeSkills® Training (LST) to all 4th and 5th grade students (100 per county) in each identified elementary school, equipping them directly with skills to cope with stress, enhance self-esteem, and strengthen decision-making (Botvin, n.d.a).Botvin LST is an evidence-based prevention program with over 40 years of research support (Botvin, n.d.b). Botvin LST is an evidence-based program that has been shown to reduce drug use by up to 75%, reduce alcohol use by up to 60%, reduce tobacco use by up to 87%, and reduce aggression, fighting, and delinquency by up to 50%.Family and community engagement activities will be accomplished through partnership with the West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute (WVDII), local prevention coalitions, and other local partners to provide naloxone training to families, distribute WVDII's signature naloxone ONEboxes to community sites, and host WVDII's free Don't Keep Rex AroundTM Medication Safety Program to 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders at each school.