“Keep Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs Away”—says PSA aired on DCTV

More than half of the District's youth are at risk for substance abuse related to environmental deprivation—parental neglect, substandard housing, poor role models, etc. There may be as many as 25,000 drug-addicted mothers in the District, creating a large population of at risk youth, especially concentrated in Ward 8, the poorest ward in the nation’s capital. A recent grant from the DC Department of Health’s Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration (APRA) enabled CECHE and partners -- APRA’s Project Reachout and DCTV Public Access Cable Television to launch a multimedia substance abuse prevention and outreach program targeted to youth and families in Ward 8.

"Don’t Smoke your Life Away”— message of new PSA to be aired on DCTV

In addition, a poster contest held Project Reachout, produced winning concepts that formed the basis of a poster developed for display throughout the inner city, at Green, Turner, Malcolm X and Garfield elementary schools, and other neighboring schools and communities in Ward 8.

Click here to download a PDF file of this poster

The final PSAs and posters are slated to be audience tested to evaluate their impact on participant knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward alcohol, drug, and tobacco use. Furthermore, CECHE hopes that our website can serve to inform a national and international audience of scientists, educators and health professionals about the PSAs and posters.

This exciting program at Stanton-Douglas Dwellings is just the beginning of a series of targeted interventions that CECHE envisions in Ward 8—the most underserved part of Washington, DC.