Projects:

Colorado Trust’s
Partnerships for Health Initiative

Implementation Phase Request

Summary of Approach

During the course of our planning process our group has deeply analyzed the current state of methamphetamine abuse and it’s broader impact on our communities.  We have seen an increase in: meth use in youth (beginning at age 12) and adults, meth related crimes, abuse and neglect from parents addicted to meth, property damage related to meth production, sex crimes committed on youth needing to support their habits, lost productivity and wages in local business and industry, including theft and property damage.

Following the strategic planning process, we began with a ‘partnership analysis’, and built a planning group, with representatives from local treatment agencies, education (pre and post-secondary), medical services, law enforcement, the faith community, prevention, prenatal care, the judicial and incarceration system, regional drug task force, the local health department, and two individuals with past addiction issues.  Our planning group then defined a mission statement:

“We will work toward eliminating methamphetamines in La Plata County, and Southwest Colorado, by coordinating and implementing innovative and/or research-based programs that deal with awareness, prevention, treatment, and long-term aftercare which supports recovery”.

The SWOT analysis boiled and filtered the issues down to 4 goal areas (and subsequent objectives).  Our goal areas are: Awareness and Education, Prevention, Treatment, and Sustained Recovery.  We decided that in order to significantly reduce (and eventually eliminate) the existence of methamphetamines in our communities we needed to: 1) reduce (and eventually eliminate) the onset on methamphetamine use, and 2) provide services to those with addiction issues (currently using and recovering) as to reduce (and eventually eliminate) relapse.

The awareness and education goal area will continue with the stigmatization process and awareness campaign (already begun by the La Plata Community Methamphetamine Forum) focusing on a community-wide rise in awareness and well as reducing/eliminating initial use.

The area of prevention will work towards implementing a Reconnecting Youth program, focusing on methamphetamine issues, into the Durango 9-R school district.  This program will specifically work with an indicated, highly at-risk, population of youth as determined through risk factors.  Prevention will also work towards implementing methamphetamine prevention programs at our local colleges: Fort Lewis and Pueblo Community College.

The treatment goal area will initially work to thoroughly assess the community to determine who needs treatment and how to engage them in that process.  After the initial research is completed treatment will work on incorporating methamphetamine-specific treatment into the La Plata County jail as well as Hilltop House (a local transitional program for post-incarcerated individuals).  Finally, this goal area will work to find matching funds to provide resource support to individuals needing/wanting methamphetamine-specific treatment but have financial, as well as other, barriers to their possible success.

Lastly, sustained recovery looks to promote methamphetamine-specific treatment options, to those seeking services, as well as provide resource support to individuals in recovery but have financial, as well as other, barriers to their possible success (specifically focusing on housing issues).

We look to create a coordinated, community-supported infrastructure to attend to the current needs of our community concerning meth as well as being flexible enough to adapt in two areas: balancing current evidence-based models with what actually ‘works’ for our community, and changing trends in meth production, distribution, cost, physiological impact and collateral community impact.

We feel that while this is a very ambitious plan, the need to minimize (and eventually remove) meth use from Southwest Colorado in an empowering and motivating counterbalance to the amount of work that lies ahead.  The good news is that we have a solid foundation of individuals, organizations, planning, and resources needed to begin building a healthier, meth-free community.