Steele County Safe and Drug Free

The Steele County Safe and Drug Free Coalition (SCSDFC) needs your help RIGHT NOW. Substance use is a big issue in Steele County, with 19% of Steele County youth reporting use of alcohol in the past 30 days. The overall use of marijuana in Steele County for grades 6-12 rose from 7% in 2010 to 9.6% in 2013 according to Minnesota Student Survey Data). However, the work of the SDFC gets results. Ninth grade student’s 30 day alcohol use has been reduced by 5% in the last 6 years. We need our Community’s support to sustain this prevention momentum.

We are currently awaiting renewal of Federal Funding. Your support will allow us to continue our efforts, without your support the following prevention efforts are at risk.

Prevention curriculum at Owatonna Schools, St. Mary’s School and Blooming Prairie Schools
o   12 sessions per month reaching 360 children

Prevention education classroom presentations
o   4 per month

Community Substance Use Prevention Education
o   4 monthly presentations

Truancy Court
o   Provide mentorship to at-risk youth

Youth Advisory Board
o   Meeting with Youth monthly
o   Engaging youth to disseminate prevention messages

Minnesota Prevention Alliance
o   State ATOD policy advocacy       

Youth Tobacco advocacy at the Capital 
o   15 area youth advocate for safe tobacco policy

Towards Zero Death Coalition
o   Serving Steele County
o   Promoting responsible driving

In the past five years, SCSDFC has initiated the following activities and programs: Successful passage of a Social Host Ordinance in Owatonna and Blooming Prairie; Installation of two drug disposal boxes in Blooming Prairie and Owatonna; Partnership with Owatonna Public Schools and Blooming Prairie Schools to provide Project Northland Alcohol Prevention Curriculum in grades 6-8 beginning 2011. (4,317 students have been educated to date); Implementation of Life of an Athlete in Owatonna High School; Tobacco Free park ordinances passed in two communities (Medford and Blooming Prairie); Coalition volunteers have provided 9,322 hours of service since October 2011; formation of Youth Advisory Board.  

We’ve grown from forty-one member multi-sector coalition in 2010 to our current membership of over seventy prevention advocates representing twelve community sectors. We actively collaborate on projects to prevent alcohol, marijuana, tobacco and prescription drug abuse among youth in Steele County. The Coalition was given a year hiatus from our federal funding with the next funds becoming available October 2016.

In order to continue to prevent youth substance abuse in Steele County, the coalition is calling on community members like you to support the Coalition financially to keep this work going. Volunteers and community partners have been active participants in every aspect of the Coalition’s planning, growth, and oversight, and your involvement is crucial to the sustainability of this vital work on behalf of the youth of Steele County.

Funds raised will be used to sustain the Coalition until next possible SAMHSA funding resumes in October 2016. United Way of Steele County is the fiscal sponsor for the Steele County Safe and Drug Free Coalition.  Because of this your donation is tax deductible.

For more information on how you can be involved please contact Darren Reed at the Steele County Safe and Drug Free/United Way office or one of the SDF Board Members listed below.

Thank you for your support,

Keith Hiller - President
Jessica Anderson - Vice President / Secretary
Jeff Bouman
Rich Dahman
Mary Kay Feltes
Evelina Giobbe
Dan McIntosh
Jane Nyquist
Tanya Paley
Kim Schaufenbuel
Ashley Schultz
Jason Stricklin
Ryan Swanson