Local coalition being formed to address substance use and abuse among Cook County youth

Cook County Public Health officials shared data recently from the 2022 Minnesota Student Survey in relation to mental health and substance use.

The survey of youth from Cook County schools was shared during an event June 16 in Grand Marias.

The survey asked local students questions about activities, opinions, behaviors, and experiences, including a variety of risk and protective factors. Among the results found were that local youth continue to have mental-health related issues resulting from isolation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cook County Public Health Educator Andrea Orest.

Cook County Public Health is working to form a Substance Use Prevention Coalition to navigate the local landscape of youth substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery. According to local public health officials, the coalition will:

-Identify what substance use concerns exist locally.

-Discussing how risk and protective factors affect substance use.

-Learning about evidence-based programs to address local substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery.

-Examining community readiness for potential programs and educational components.

-Developing goals, strategies, and objectives around substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery.

-Evaluating progress on those goals to determine our effectiveness.

If you are interested in joining the coalition or would like to discuss local substance use on a more informal basis, please contact Andrea Orest at Cook County Public Health by phone at 218-220-5536 or by email at andrea.orest@co.cook.mn.us.

All voices are welcomed and appreciated, Orest said.

Orest spoke with WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs about the local student survey and the substance abuse coalition being formed in Cook County.

Joe Friedrichs June 19, 2023