Our Activities

in Charlotte County

Our Initiatives

Drug Free Charlotte County addresses substance abuse as both a community coalition and a prevention program provider. The coalition has spent over a decade successfully developing and implementing social norms marketing campaigns. These campaigns promote positive community norms related to substance use. Messages include the fact most teens do not use alcohol, tobacco or drugs and that parents are key to prevention. These successful marketing strategies have led to the development of a social enterprise strategy to sell the social marketing campaigns to other prevention organizations. This provides added resources for the work of the organization to promote wellness through substance abuse prevention.

Coalition Initiatives

Through its dedication to build strong partnerships, DFCC helped form two “sister coalitions” in the Punta Gorda and Englewood communities. Both coalitions have gone on to become federally recognized and funded Drug Free Community Coalitions. This helps build capacity for the work of prevention with more community members focusing on issues in their neighborhoods and local community.

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Prevention Provider Programs

As a prevention service provider, Drug Free Charlotte County provides evidence-based programs for children and youth in the county. In 2016, the nonprofit expanded its services to include special programs for elementary, at-risk teens and parents.

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Coalition Initiatives

Prevention Planning and Partnership

A key role for Drug Free Charlotte County is to be our community’s convener around substance use prevention. By implementing the Strategic Prevention Framework, the coalition identifies and prioritizes our local data and trends, then develops strategies to prevent and reduce teen use and adult misuse. The coalition partners with community members and partners to build the capacity to successfully implement through strategies. This includes being part of community partnership and initiatives that address the health and safety of our community.

Students Working Against Tobacco

Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) is a teen led initiative that educates members on tobacco use risks and trains them to be advocates for their peers and community. Students in local middle schools have the opportunity to be part of a SWAT club in their school. There is also a “community-based” club for older teens or those not in a school with a club.

Community Education

A key role for Drug Free Charlotte County is to educate our community on substance use issues and local trends. Examples include:

  • Parent Bootcamp
  • Teen Brain and Health
  • Medication Safety for Adults and Seniors
  • What is Addiction?

We also partner with other community agencies, businesses, and organizations to distribute important educational information on substance use issues and resources.

Safe Use, Safe Storage, Safe Disposal

Coalition initiative focused on helping to reduce the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications. We partner with local healthcare providers and community partners to provide our community with information on the safe use, safe storage and safe disposal of medications, including through the website www.SafeRx.tips

Kids Thrive! Collaborative

Kids Thrive strengthens family and early childhood literacy as a tool to reduce trauma and build strong families starting at pregnancy. Drug Free Charlotte County serves as a lead for a collaboration funded through local support of The United Way of Charlotte County, Charlotte County Board of Commissioners, and the Miriam P. Raines Charitable Fund (Gulf Coast Community Foundation).

Annual Prevention Awards Breakfast

The second Friday in May is the standing date for this annual event. We recognize our “Advocates for Action”; “Legacy”; “Mission Impact,” and “Imani Family Foundation Teen Leadership” awardees.

Tobacco Free Partnership Charlotte County

Drug Free Charlotte County is the local lead for our community’s Tobacco Free Partnership. The Partnership works to educate our community on the risks of use of tobacco products, build awareness of the impact of advertising and retail placement on teen use and promotes tobacco free policies.

Drug-Free, Tobacco-Free Workplaces

Drug Free Charlotte County and the Tobacco Partnership work together and with other community partners to help businesses develop drug-free and tobacco-free workplace policies. There are nearly 150 organizations and businesses who now designated themselves a drug-free workplace in our community.

Prevention Provider Programs

Alcohol Literacy Challenge®

Alcohol Literacy Challenge® (ALC) is an evidenced-based curriculum that challenges students’ beliefs about the effects of drinking alcohol. The ALC corrects the erroneous beliefs about alcohol use promoted by the media, and thereby decreases positive and increases negative alcohol expectancies. Research shows these shifts in expectancies lower levels of alcohol use. We tailor the curriculums to age, providing this program in Elementary School (focused on critical thinking and media literacy), Middle and High Schools.

Medication Safety

This program uses the research validated education “GenerationRx” programs to teach elementary students medication safety.

LifeSkills Training®

LifeSkills Training® (LST) is an evidenced-based program for elementary through high school youth. Rather than merely teaching information about the dangers of drug abuse, Botvin LifeSkills Training promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through activities designed to: build self-esteem, teach resiliency and resistance skills, deal more effectively with stress and anxiety, increase knowledge of consequences to substance use, and enhance competency in how to reduce health risk behaviors.

Just the Facts

This program provides science-based education on commonly used substances. Information on how substances impact brain development are highlighted in an interactive learning manner. This program can focus on a specific substance, or multiple substances. We tailor sessions to the age of the audience – from K-12th grades.

Strengthening Families Program

The Strengthening Families Program is an evidenced base program that teaches skills to parents and children which help strengthen bonds, build resiliency and support healthy parenting and family development.

Social Norms and Marketing Campaigns

These campaigns are an evidence-based strategy to help correct faulty perception of substance use and promote healthy perceptions and behaviors through marketing activities focused on teens and parents.  Drug Free Charlotte County employs a variety of campaigns developed through the years, as well as prevention messages developed by teens themselves. Examples include:

  • Friday Night Done Right (No Alcohol No Dope)
  • ​Crazy Real
  • #NotSmokingAnything
  • Be the Wall (Between Teens and Alcohol)
  • Refuse to Use

Additional evidence-based programs, such as Project Alert, are also available. Contact us to learn how we can bring prevention to your organization – at no cost to you! 941-255-0808 x2157