In order to support school and family efforts to promote healthy attitudes and behaviors among young people, the larger community must understand the nature and severity of drug- and violence-related problems and be mobilized for action. Media and public education campaigns, as well as targeted policy changes, can increase community awareness about specific problems facing local youth, garner community support for prevention efforts, reinforce school-based programs, and alter community norms.

Spread the word through press releases and news stories. Working with the media can help you raise community awareness and bring community members on board for prevention activities. There are many ways to connect with the media. For example, your planning team might solicit news coverage of an event or offer ideas for feature stories. You might also write a press release to notify reporters and editors of an upcoming event or recent development. To increase the chances of getting press releases and news stories published or aired, your team should cultivate relationships with reporters and editors.

Develop public service announcements. Public service announcements (PSAs) are educational messages designed to focus public attention on serious issues like drug and violence prevention. A variety of mediums can be used to communicate these messages, including television, radio, print, the World Wide Web, billboards, buses, and subways. Your planning team might consider developing PSAs that address issues specific to your community as part of your prevention initiative.

Bring community policies and practices in line with your message. Establishing and enforcing community policies that limit the availability of harmful substances and weapons represents another critical prevention strategy. Schools can partner with local and state government, public agencies (e.g., social service departments), and private organizations (e.g., HMOs, convenience stores) to effect policy changes. Although your community may need to create some new policies, many sound policies are probably already in place; the challenge will be to promote their consistent enforcement.

Subcommittees or work groups can be created to focus on selected aspects of a prevention plan. For example, a team of teachers, parents, administrators, students, and others from the school or community might target partnerships for prevention and education reform. They could take the lead on such tasks as assessing current partnership practices throughout your district and revising or writing new plans and policies for family and community involvement.

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