It’s All About Prevention at Holcomb Prevention-Delaware County
May is National Mental Health Awareness Month — and May 8th starts National Prevention Week.
The two most definitely intersect at Holcomb Prevention-Delaware County, which works not just during National Prevention Week but all year long to raise awareness around substance misuse prevention and its connection to mental health.
Based in Delaware County, PA, Holcomb Prevention has provided evidence-based prevention programs for youth and parents since 1997. At Holcomb, prevention isn’t a game of trial-and-error, but rather a planned strategy to prevent or reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs through activities and awareness.
On site, Holcomb Prevention offers programs for kids as young as K-2 with our Beginning Awareness Basic Education Studies (BABES) program, which provides factual information on alcohol and other drugs, introduces decision making and coping skills, and works to increase each child’s self-awareness.
For the tweens and teens, there’s a whole suite of programs addressing topics ranging from dating abuse to alcohol abuse prevention, gambling and other high-risk behaviors, and more. Living With Purpose, a mentoring program for grades 6-12, pairs kids with adult mentors to cultivate positive leadership and goal-setting skills.
These evidence-based initiatives are complemented by programs to help parents recognize stressors and start the lifesaving conversations about alcohol and drugs and a number of community programs and trainings to break the stereotype that “everyone is doing it.”
Likewise, Holcomb Prevention’s in-person programs are bolstered by a robust public education campaign through social media, prevention e-newsletters, and our website. We also provide the community with free Pill Pod lock boxes, hold an annual Student Poster Contest, run a regular community awareness program called “Stall Stories” (we provide the materials for mini-posters to be hung in bathroom stalls at malls, community centers, houses of worship and other communal spaces) and more.
By supporting Chimes, you are helping to ensure entire communities value healthy lifestyles and think about the consequences of substance use. That’s how we’ll break the stigma and the cycle of substance misuse — thank you.
