YES Community Counseling Center’s PACT (Partnering In Action and Change For Tomorrow) is funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (SAMHSA-CSAP). PACT addresses our nation’s top substance abuse prevention priorities among persons aged 9-20 – underage drinking, marijuana and opioid use. PACT seeks to understand patterns of youth and young adult underage drinking and substance use to best address targeted prevention, training, education and outreach.
PACT is comprised of five communities and school districts (Farmingdale, Island Trees, Levittown, Massapequa and Plainedge) including collaboration with Farmingdale Alcohol Drug Abuse and Prevention Team (ADAPT), Levittown Community Action Coalition (LCAC), Massapequa Takes Action Coalition (MTAC), as well as the Long Island Prevention Resource Center (LIPRC), Nassau County Police Department and National Guard Counter Drug Task Force. These entities work together to prevent the onset and progression of alcohol and substance use among youth and young adults aged 9-20.
Mission
PACT’s mission is to prevent the onset and reduce the progression of underage drinking and youth substance use and its related problems. Through community collaboration, we provide data-driven strategies and educational outreach to strengthen our communities’ prevention capacity to change the conditions by which youth substance use exists.
Action Plan
Working to strengthen prevention capacity in our schools, communities and coalitions, PACT collects community level data annually to define and evaluate data-driven substance use prevention priorities in Nassau County. Utilizing the Strategic Prevention Framework, PACT assists our communities in selecting comprehensive, data-driven substance use prevention strategies to reduce underage drinking and youth substance use. PACT’s Prevention Team conducts trainings in Evidence Based Practices and Programs for College and Secondary School Administrators, educators and social workers as well as our community based partners and coalitions. Utilizing community level data, we share and develop best practices in youth substance use prevention, community outreach and educational resources to further our mission to help youth making healthy decisions as they navigate adolescence and youth adulthood.
Health Disparities
Behavioral Health Equity is the right to access quality health care for all populations – regardless of the individual’s race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, or geographical location (SAMHSA). This includes access to prevention, treatment and recovery services for mental and substance use disorders. PACT seeks to address behavioral health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities and other populations by collaborating with knowledgeable experts from the five local communities, school districts and colleges to ensure adherence to National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in Health and Health Care.
We know one size does not fit all.
PACT is committed to incorporating the issues and concerns of diverse communities of culture within Nassau County. Our planning processes will be done with communities not to communities. Data will be gathered relevant to disparate populations via surveys and qualitative methodologies. This will also guide implementation decisions over the course of the grant initiative. Training and hiring protocols will be implemented to support the culture and language of all sub populations. Program materials will be available in Spanish, as well as elements of our media campaigns. We will also work with youth to identify preferred language around gender identity.
Stakeholders and Partners
English
Chinese (Simplified)
French
Hindi
Persian
Portuguese
Spanish