What is Prevention?

We live our lives trying to prevent bad things from happening. In the most basic ways we begin prevention as exploratory toddlers and even earlier, learning what causes pain and how to avoid it. Everyone engages in some form of prevention. We practice fire safety, wear seat belts, try to eat healthy diets, obey traffic laws, avoid vicious dogs, follow rules, strap on safety helmets, quit smoking, and brush our teeth to evade negative outcomes.

CIS of Marion County, Inc. is also involved in the work of prevention. How is looking both ways before crossing the road related to substance abuse prevention? How is brushing your teeth like the research and work done to steer children and teens away from drugs, alcohol and harmful behaviors? No difference. The concepts are the same. If you understand that, you understand the basics of the complicated world of substance abuse and violence prevention.

Based on decades of valid research and practice, we know there are assets and circumstances that reduce chances that bad things will happen to kids. If children are enveloped in homes, schools and communities where healthy beliefs and deeply established clear standards unify certain behaviors across social, demographic and economic sectors, those children will be more likely to live productive lives. If they have opportunities to learn skills and to be successful at something they feel is worthwhile, they will have increased fortitude to resist negative influences. If kids have adults in their lives who notice when they do something helpful, they are more likely to continue positive contributions.

Although they may protest, adolescents actually appreciate consistent boundaries and fair rules that protect them from social pressures. When teens know they will be caught if they disobey laws and rules, and that fair and consistent consequences will follow, they appreciate guidance and respect authority. When retail outlets never sell tobacco or beer to underage customers, youth receive a clearer message about what is expected and also have less access to harmful products. When they live in a town where adults can have fun without drinking alcohol, they are more likely to make good choices about their own alcohol use. When they attend schools that prohibit tobacco use anywhere, anytime by anyone on school property, it sets a standard for not smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco.

Prevention is not merely telling youth to say no to drugs. It’s not a once-a-year speech by a recovering addict who testifies about a former life in the gutter. Prevention is about adults realizing that their own behavior and attitudes – positive and negative – model what is acceptable for children. Prevention is about deciding who we are as parents and community members. It occurs when community norms guide children to their fullest potential. It is about living adult lives of integrity. It is about setting a point on the compass of healthy behaviors and wholesome communities, and then using that sharp silver arrow as a guide for every single decision we make in Marion County.