Overview
The Asset Building Coalition (ABC), formerly known as the Monroe County Community Prevention Coalition, has served as the alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention coalition for Monroe County since 1995. Building upon extensive research on the healthy development of youth, the Search Institute has identified 40 developmental assets. Research indicates “the more Developmental Assets® young people have the less likely they are to engage in risky behavior, including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use” (Search Institute). The Asset Building Coalition focuses on increasing these assets among our youth as a prevention strategy for alcohol, tobacco, and drug use.
Some highlights of what we’ve been up to:
We have drug-free coalitions in each of our middle and high schools. These are groups of students who have committed to be alcohol, tobacco, and drug free and are dedicated to promoting a healthy teen community. They meet on a regular basis to plan the teen activities, promote transition events, and learn about drug abuse and prevention, as well as how to incorporate the 40 developmental assets into daily life.
We sponsor drug-free teen events such as Battle of the Bands, Spring Blast, North/South 5th Quarter, and Funny Buffet.
We sponsor the annual Youth Summit which brings together 120 teens with our local policy makers.
We partner with local businesses, schools, churches, neighborhood associations, law enforcement, youth serving organizations, and parents in a wide variety of events and campaigns in efforts to both spread the 40 developmental assets and to decrease the risk taking behavior for the youth in our community.
We introduced the Life Skills program to our schools which they adopted into their own curriculum.
