“I had no idea that this many adults cared so much about us.”
A young person attending the retreat

The 50 plus people who attended this retreat on August 6 were invited to explore comprehensive ways the community can reduce substance use and build protective factors among youth in Bloomington, Edina, and Richfield.

The retreat got underway with a short presentation on the Tri-City Partners Coalition and the current issues and trends with youth ATOD use in Bloomington, Edina and Richfield.

The facilitator of the retreat, Carlton Hall, Senior Manager of Training and Technical Assistance for CADCA’s National Coalition Institute, presented the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF). The SPF assists community coalitions in developing the infrastructure needed for community based approaches that can lead to effective and sustainable reductions in alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use. The SPF ensures population level change when effective, environmental strategies are used. Mr. Hall guided the attendees through a process that explores the conditions or root causes for ATOD use (but why?) and the reasons ATOD use is prevalent in Bloomington, Edina and Richfield (but why here?).

Retreat participants broke into small city-specific groups to focus on the “but why” and “but why here” questions. These small groups used this model to begin brainstorming ways to respond and presented their ideas to the large group.

• Bloomington - #1
• Bloomington - #2
• Edina
• Richfield

What impressed Carlton Hall about TCP:

• Youth participation
• High level of positive energy
• Impressed by the commitment to youth
• Found the TCP web site and information/data available remarkable
• Thrilled by the attendees’ knowledge of prevention

Recommendations from Carlton Hall:

A follow-up to the retreat is being considered to put ideas into action and set the coalition up for continued success.

• Discuss effective strategies for change
• Develop specific approaches for each community since each community is different and has varying “but why here” statements
• Generate commitment
• Build on the energy