Our View: New campaign helps teens rise above
Steamboat Springs — A new statewide campaign aimed at reducing drug use among teens was launched in Steamboat Springs the last week in October. The unveiling of a huge graffiti-inspired mural at the Boys & Girls Club and the introduction of a youth-centric social media plan marked the start of the #IRiseAbove effort here and across Colorado.
The new drug prevention effort is led by Rise Above Colorado, a Colorado nonprofit group that originally began with an anti-meth message. That group’s net has widened to include the growing epidemic of prescription drug abuse among teens, which we think is a threat that must be fought on all fronts with involvement from teens, parents, educators, law enforcement and community leaders.
Steamboat was selected as one of 12 towns across the state where the #IRise
Above campaign was introduced. During a three-day summit, Rise Above Colorado hosted a town hall-style meeting to spark community dialogue as well as informational sessions on drug abuse prevention with various groups that included students, teachers, human service organizations and law enforcement agencies.
These more traditional interactions to sharing the anti-drug message were well-attended and well-received but what really grabbed our attention about the new campaign was its emphasis on using social media to spread the message.
Counting on teens’ and tweens’ love for Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat, Rise Above Colorado is encouraging young people to take photos of themselves and their friends enjoying activities like sports, art and music, which are alternatives to drug use, and to share those images on social media using the special hashtag #IRiseAbove.
These posts raise awareness about teen drug use while also giving students a creative outlet for helping spread a positive message. And since the posts are created by teens for teens, their impact should be far greater than other more mainstream messaging efforts.
The approach is exciting and new, and we think it will resonate with a new generation of young people who grew up with smartphones in their hands and technology at their fingertips.
And for those who think prescription drug abuse is not an issue, think again.
As a state, Colorado has the second worst rate of pain pill abuse in the United States, according to the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A 2011 youth risk behavior survey revealed that 29.2 percent of Colorado seniors had taken a prescription medication without a doctor’s prescription at least once in their lifetime. These same teens reported they think prescription drugs are safer than “street” drugs and they said these drugs are easier to score than beer because the pills are obtained easily from family medicine cabinets.
Locally, the statistics fall a little below the state survey results with 17 percent of high school students reporting that they have taken a prescription drug without a prescription according to results from the latest Health Kids Colorado Survey conducted at Steamboat Springs High School.
Education and early intervention, coupled with a community-wide awareness of potential drug abuse problems, are effective tools in fighting teen drug use, and efforts like the new #IRiseAbove campaign play an important role in raising awareness and getting a public conversation started.
We are glad to see that Steamboat Springs has joined 11 other communities in taking the lead to promote this anti-drug campaign, and we continue to applaud the local groups involved this campaign, including Grand Futures Prevention Coalition and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Steamboat Springs. These groups and their volunteers are serving on the front lines —working hard to provide our young people with activities to keep them healthy, busy and engaged and empowering them to live lives free of drugs and alcohol — and they deserve our support.
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