Ohio Spirits 2018 Q1 - 33

Youth advocacy day: After meeting with legislators and asking them to support prevention, dozens of youth and community leaders smiled for
a photo on March 8, 2017, at the Verne Riffe Center in downtown Columbus.

hat began 30 years
ago as a group of
concerned parents meeting in
the home of Hope Taft-who would
later become first lady of Ohio-
has become a national nonprofit
dedicated to preventing alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug misuse.
Prevention Action Alliance, formerly Drug Free Action Alliance,
has evolved from working with parents exclusively, to an organization
that works with every sector of the
community to prevent substance
misuse and promote mental health
wellness.
"What we do is work with communities to implement policies,
laws, and programs that don't
only teach our children to resist
the pressure to use drugs but also
surround our children with healthy,
nurturing environments," says
Marcie Seidel, executive director
at PAA. "It's one thing to teach
our children not to use drugs. But,
if we then release that child into a
polluted environment, then they too
can potentially become polluted."
On one hand, Seidel says,
they've just been taught that using
drugs can harm their physical and
mental health. But on the other,
they see advertisements for many

of those drugs around their community's baseball stadiums, on billboards in town, on the social media
sites they use, and elsewhere.
"It sends them mixed signals,"
says Fran Gerbig, PAA's assistant
executive director. "What they've
been told by adults doesn't line up
with what they see adults doing. But
when a child is taught to resist the
pressure to use drugs, and the community they live in reinforces those
messages every day, it can change
their life."
Seidel says PAA came to focus
on mental health wellness as the
link between drug use and mental illness became more evident.
In fact, those with mood or anxiety disorders are roughly twice as
likely as the general population to
also have a substance use disorder
and vice versa, according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse.
"When we're talking about preventing drug use, we're also talking
about promoting good mental
health," Seidel says. "The two go
hand in hand, and it's more crucial
now than ever before that we work
together to address these shared
risks in a comprehensive manner."
To accomplish that mission,
PAA has built a broad coalition
of partners. PAA works with state

and local governments, colleges,
schools, churches, police departments, community coalitions,
youth-led groups, other nonprofits
and those who have lost a loved one
to addiction, to prevent alcohol,
tobacco, and other drug use.
"All of us have a role to play in
prevention," says Gerbig. "From
parents to community and faith
leaders, we all must work together

Funds for PAA
Social responsibility is of the
utmost important to the Division
of Liquor Control, which is why
the Division made the decision to
donate one percent of the
advertising proceeds of Ohio
S p i r i t s t o Pr eve n t i o n Ac t i o n
Alliance (PAA). PAA was chosen by
the Division based on its
impressive histor y of making
communities safer and healthier
places to live and work. When
Division employees met with PAA
representatives, it was clear they
had a passion for the cause and
were committed to the uplifting
work they perform every day. The
Division looks forward to helping
further PAA's mission through the
funds they will receive.

WINTER | SPRING 2018

Ohio Spirits 2018 Q1

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