2025 Prevention Summit update
We are pleased to announce that this year’s Annual Prevention Provider Meeting and Prevention Summit will tentatively be held on Monday, October 27 through Wednesday, October 29 in Tacoma, WA. Exact venue and "save the date" to be shared soon. Stay tuned for more information on registration and call for presentations!
Prevention award nominations due soon
July 31 is the final day to submit nominations for the 2025 Prevention Awards of Excellence. The awards recognize professionals, community members, youth, and Coalitions for their exemplary contributions to substance abuse prevention, problem gambling prevention, mental health promotion, and the health of their communities.
Please don’t let excellence go unrecognized. Take time now to celebrate and focus statewide attention on prevention work.
Congratulations to everyone who joined the 2025 Coalition Leadership Institute!
On June 24–25, the Washington State Health Care Authority’s Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery hosted 139 participants at the 2025 Coalition Leadership Institute (CLI), held virtually on Zoom. This year’s CLI focused on Minerva 2.0 and how it supports prevention and mental health promotion efforts across Washington State.
We’re grateful to all who participated and contributed to the dialogue. View the full update on the Athena Forum.
SDRG Office Hours changes
SDRG Office Hours have been shortened to one hour. Also, the second session of each month will begin with a short, themed presentation. Get the details.
Opioid Summit registration now open
Reserve your space now for the 2025 Peaks to Coast: United Opioid and Polysubstance Response Summit. The event will be held virtually on September 4 and 5, 2025
The summit provides a unique blend of educational opportunities and networking avenues for professionals dedicated to addressing opioid and polysubstance use disorders in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.
New Focus On social videos featuring real teens
The Focus On underage drinking prevention campaign is currently running an exciting youth user-generated content video project! An extension of our animated social series, the As Told By Teens videos will feature real Washington teens’ answers to top-of-mind questions about underage drinking prevention and mental health, like “What brings you joy?” and “Why is prevention important to you?”. Check out our Instagram, Facebook, and partner toolkit (password: FocusOnYou) for our first videos.
Save the Date! SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST)
The Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) is sponsoring an in-person SPF Application for Prevention Success Training (SAPST) on September 9-12, in the Olympia/Tacoma area (site TBD).
We highly recommend SAPST as essential training for all CPWI coordinators and other prevention providers who want to build a more thorough understanding of how prevention works and why. Learn more about the course and registration.
BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit
Get the resources you need to spark conversations and help improve mental health among black, indigenous, and people of color with Mental Health America’s 2025 BIPOC Mental Health Toolkit.
Prevention spotlight
Council for Drug Free Youth, White Center/North Highline
The Council for Drug Free Youth's (CDFY) first-year Student Assistance Professional (SAP), Anita, engaged with ten students at Cascade Middle School throughout the school year. The students named themselves "Rising Above.” At the end of the year, the students hosted a celebration and CDFY’s coalition members donated food and prizes. The celebration concluded with a circle where the students could share their personal testimonies and what they learned while being in the group. It was clear that Miss Anita made a difference in their lives. In addition, the coalition coordinator and SAP found they’d helped one another in personal development, data management, and effective communication.
 CDFY's "Rising Above" student group
Concrete Resource Coalition
In Concrete, WA, several families–a total of 26 people–graduated from the Strengthening Families Program (SFP) in March, after completing more than 17 hours of training over a seven-week period. SFP is an evidence-based family skills training program for parents, caregivers, and youth that teaches parenting, life, and refusal skills to increase family protective factors and reduce individual and family risk factors associated with later substance misuse, mental health problems, and delinquency. Facilitation was provided through a joint effort by SAPs from ESD 189 and coalition members.
Learn more about the Concrete Resource Coalition.
 March graduates of Concrete's Strengthening Families Program
April 2025 National Drug Take Back Day results
Congratulations to everyone who participated in the past National Take Back Day on April 26, 2025. The Drug Enforcement Administration has shared the results of the event, which can be viewed under the “April 2025" dropdown.
This year was the 28th National Take Back Day, with the state of Washington hosting a total of 61 collection sites. In total, Washington collected 5,094 pounds of prescription drugs.
New trainings to debut at CADCA mid-year
CADCA is debuting two new trainings at their mid-year conference this month:
- Understanding what makes us healthy
- Youth engagement for adults
Learn more
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