Substance Abuse Prevention Month – Every day, many Americans are hurt by alcohol and drug use. From diminished achievement in our schools to greater risks on our roads and in our communities to the heartache of lives cut tragically short, the consequences of substance use are profound. Yet, we also know that they are preventable.
Preventing drug use before it begins—particularly among young people—is the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use and its consequences. The best approach to reducing the tremendous toll substance use exacts on individuals, families, and communities is to prevent the damage before it occurs.
In fact, research has shown that every dollar invested in a proven school-based prevention program can reduce social costs, including those related to substance use, by an average of $18.1. Read about Living the Example, Mentor Foundation USA’s school-based prevention program.
COVID-19 and opioid addiction are considered the two great epidemics of our generation, and they are now intersecting in addictively deadly ways. The need for adolescent substance use prevention has never been greater, and Mentor Foundation USA remains dedicated to continuing our work in the United States to empower young people to live healthy and productive lives, free of substance use.
Read the Proclamation on National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, 2020 here.