By: Dona Dmitrovic, Director, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention

In a world filled with a seemingly endless number of troubling headlines, it seems that everyone is looking for a bit of good news these days. And here it is: Underage drinking and substance misuse prevention is making an impact across the country!

According to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), instances of any alcohol use by individuals under age 21 have decreased since 2002. And between 2002 and 2019, current drinking by 12- to 20-year-olds declined from 29 percent to 19 percent.

While alcohol use by underage people has decreased since 2002, the decrease has been greater for underage males than for females. In 2019, more girls than boys reported past-month alcohol use. This highlights that while prevention is working, new challenges are emerging that require us to adjust attention and our strategies. And one of the biggest new challenges facing underage drinking prevention right now is the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since March 2020, young people have had to navigate disruptions in education, their social networks, and the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on communities of color. As prevention professionals, we know that these are risk factors that can lead young people to start using and misusing substances. In fact, the CDC found that 1 in 4 young people ages 18 to 24 started or increased substance use in the past 30 days to cope with stress associated with COVID-19. Our prevention work needs to adapt to the new landscape. Fortunately, federal resources are rising to the occasion and providing communities with tools they can use even during the pandemic to promote prevention.

SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention offers programs and resources to help communities tackle the impact of alcohol and other substances among youth and young adults. A key resource is the Communities Talk to Prevent Underage Drinking initiative, which launched its eighth round on February 4 and has an impressive track record of connecting communities to uncover and work through specific issues they are facing together.

Keeping disruptions to the prevention landscape in mind, this round of Communities Talk emphasizes activities that account for social distancing guidelines and changes in how individuals, families, and communities interact. By making these adjustments, we can maintain our commitment to underage drinking prevention while responding to new challenges in our communities. This is how we ensure Communities Talk 2021 continues to mobilize communities to raise awareness and implement evidence-based strategies to mitigate alcohol’s negative effects on young people. It also ensures prevention professionals understand the value of using Communities Talk as a tool to address mental health challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic that we know can lead to unhealthy coping habits, such as alcohol use by young people.

I invite you to see for yourself the incredible prevention work communities have done in 2019 by reading success stories that communities have shared with us. These stories illustrate the inspirational events they have hosted that contributed to reduced rates of underage drinking in all 50 states and 6 U.S. territories. In 2021, we know communities will leverage this initiative to create new and inspiring ways to advance prevention.

SAMHSA offers a variety of other materials and resources communities can use, including many that combine personal stories with data to make prevention strategies attainable:

• The Sound of Your Voice –public service announcement and parent guide show the consequences of underage drinking that young adults transitioning to college often experience, as well as the vital role that parents can play in determining whether a young person decides to drink while underage.
• The “Talk. They Hear You.” national media campaign aims to reduce underage drinking and substance misuse among youth under the age of 21 by providing parents and caregivers with information and resources they need to talk about alcohol and other drug use with their children early.
• SAMHSA’s Substance Misuse Prevention for Young Adults guide supports health care providers, systems, and communities seeking to prevent substance misuse among young adults.
• The College Drinking: Prevention Perspectives two-part video series shows how underage drinking prevention strategies are implemented on college campuses: 1) “Lessons Learned at Frostburg State University” and 2) “Embracing Culture and Context to Prevent Underage Drinking.”
• The Quick Start Planning Guide includes everything community-based organizations need to know to begin organizing a results-oriented underage drinking prevention activity. The guide includes detailed steps for planning an activity, promotional tips using traditional and social media, ideas for sharing your work, and commonly asked questions about how to use a Communities Talk stipend

To learn more about the many ways SAMHSA supports underage drinking prevention both nationally and locally, visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov. This is also a great place to learn about Communities Talk and take the first step in using this initiative to support underage drinking prevention in your community.

We are proud of the progress we’ve made so far, and we are excited to see what the future of prevention holds for our nation. Thank you for your continued support in reducing underage drinking and substance misuse.

Prevention works!

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we want to take time to celebrate the diverse, brilliant women across this nation who keep everything going at home and work, within community organizations and faith institutions, and in every aspect of life. We celebrate the women from our history who have helped to shape us as individuals and as a nation. We hope this note speaks in a positive way to every woman who reads or is served by this message.

During this month, celebrate the women in your life and ask them to prioritize their own mental health. Acknowledge and support women at whatever age or stage they are in life. Check on the women in your life to make sure they are doing okay. Let them know that it is okay to not always be okay. Make sure they know that they have a safe place to go if they are struggling with their mental health and offer your help in connecting them to a behavioral health professional. If you are a woman, consider taking the time to celebrate your own accomplishments and do a mental health self-care check-up this month. If you find that you need additional help, reach out to your physician or a behavioral health provider. SAMHSA offers a Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator that can help you identify providers in your area.

Women are often the caregivers to their families and friends, yet often overlook giving themselves the care they need. Mental health is essential to well-being and women must prioritize their own mental health to ensure that they remain healthy. Being mentally healthy has an impact on the legacies and history of women. Ensure the women in your life have the tools to be mentally and physically healthy starting with these tips below.

• Take time for yourself to do something you want or nothing at all
• Get a good night's rest every night, 7-9 hours per night is recommended for adults
• Participate in regular exercise, 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity is recommended for adults
• Get outside and get some sunshine whenever possible
• Try relaxation techniques like meditation, mindfulness, or prayer
• Tell a trusted family member or friend if you are struggling with your mental health
• Consider talking to a mental health professional
• If you or someone you know is in a crisis please use the resource provided below for help
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
  • Ayuda en español: 1-888-628-9454
• If you know someone who needs immediate crisis counseling related to disasters
  • Disaster Distress Helpline
  • 1-800-985-5990
• For free and confidential treatment referral and information about mental health and/or substance use disorders in English and Spanish, 24/7
  • SAMHSA’s National Helpline
  • 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

For more resources about mental health, visit Store.SAMHSA.gov

By: HIV.gov. This blog was posted on HIV.gov on February 3, 2021.

The HHS Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released Prevention and Treatment of HIV Among People Living with Substance Use and/or Mental Disorders, a guidebook that addresses the co-occurrence of HIV and mental illness and/or substance use disorder (SUD) and reviews effective programs and practices to prevent HIV and, for those with HIV, to increase linkage and retention to care in order to improve health outcomes.

Kristin Roha, MS, MPH, Public Health Advisor for HIV, and Dr. Neeraj Gandotra, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

Established in 1988, World AIDS Day allows the people of the world to show support for people living with and affected by HIV, and to commemorate people who have lost their lives to AIDS. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided an urgent reminder that pandemics can devastate communities, lives, and livelihoods. The theme for World AIDS Day 2020 is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact.” We at SAMHSA have seen how the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the challenges faced by people living with HIV, substance use disorder, and mental disorder. SAMHSA is proud to stand with our federal partners, our grantees, and the people of the world in observing World AIDS Day 2020.

SAMHSA’s mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America’s communities. People with mental or substance use disorders are at an increased risk of HIV in the form of high-risk drug use behaviors, particularly injection drug use, and high-risk sexual practices that frequently occur during intoxication and in the situation of untreated mental illness. Increasing capacity and service delivery to those with substance use disorder will result in increased screening, detection, and then linkage to those with HIV/AIDS in this high-risk population; treating substance use disorder and mental disorder is a form of HIV prevention. Substance use treatment centers, like SAMHSA’s grantees and partner organizations and community mental health centers, serve on the front lines of the HIV epidemic as important pathways to HIV testing, treatment for people who test positive, and prevention services to ensure people who are HIV-negative stay negative.

As one of several collaborating HHS agencies participating in the federal initiative Ending the Epidemic: A Plan for America, SAMHSA’s principal goals are to: reduce new HIV infections, improve HIV-related health outcomes, and reduce HIV-related health disparities for racial and ethnic minority communities. The pathway to meeting these goals is through:

1. Increasing testing frequency,
2. Increasing referrals to treatment for HIV positive individuals and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV-negative individuals, and
3. Supporting linkage to HIV treatment for enrollees who test HIV-positive.

In 2020, our mission was complicated by COVID-19, as SAMHSA’s grantees have navigated the intersection between the COVID-19, opioid, and HIV/AIDS pandemics. But SAMHSA’s grantees and partner organizations have risen to the challenge, and developed innovative ways to deliver substance use disorder, mental disorder, and HIV testing and referrals in a largely virtual space. Thanks to updated guidelines from the CDC, SAMHSA grantees have been able to leverage alternative testing strategies, such as HIV self-testing, which allows individuals to perform their HIV tests in their own homes.

2020 also saw the launch of the ‘I am ready’ campaign, part of the Ready, Set, PrEP program, which removes cost barriers to increase access to PrEP medications nationwide. In FY2020, SAMHSA grantees screened nearly 19,000 individuals for HIV, including 577 newly identified HIV-positive people, and linked 564 of those people to lifelong treatment. Our eventual goal is to ensure that every beneficiary of SAMHSA programming receives an HIV test, post-test counseling, and linkage to treatment or prevention services.

To assist our grantees and partner organizations in their efforts to combat the HIV epidemic, SAMHSA has produced resources and funded grants that aim to address the intersection between substance abuse, mental disorder, and HIV/AIDS. In 2018, Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz reached out to colleagues to urge the substance use treatment communities to focus on the synergistic epidemics of substance use disorder HIV, and viral hepatitis. In 2019, Dr. McCance-Katz reached out to colleagues again to endorse greater utilization of oral fluid testing among all programs as an effective tool for HIV screening. Again in 2019, SAMHSA also produced a social media resource, the New HIV Prevention Platform. SAMHSA’s Substance Abuse and HIV Prevention Navigator Program for Racial/Ethnic Minorities provides training and education around the risks of substance misuse, education on HIV/AIDS, and needed linkages to service provision for individuals with HIV. SAMHSA’s Technology Transfer Centers provide technical assistance in real time to grantees navigating the COVID-19, opioid, and HIV epidemics.

Published in November 2020, SAMHSA’s Prevention and Treatment of HIV among People Living with Substance Use and/or Mental Disorders aims to inform health care and administrators, policy makers, and community members about strategies to prevent and treat HIV among individuals who have mental illness and/or substance use disorders.

On World AIDS Day 2020, SAMHSA would like to thank our staff, grantees, federal partners, and the substance use disorder and mental health community as a whole in working toward our shared goal of ending the HIV epidemic. SAMHSA understands the difficulties inherent in delivering care during the COVID-19 epidemic, and we thank you for your diligence and your flexibility during this time of great uncertainty. Thank you for the work you do to save lives and improve the health of the people of America.

By: Roxana Hernandez, MPH; Shayla Anderson, MPH, CHES; Victoria Chau, Ph.D., MPH; Larke Huang, Ph.D., SAMHSA Office of Behavioral Health Equity

National Hispanic Heritage Month invites us to celebrate the Latinx community. The Year 2020 has been a challenging year and a difficult one to celebrate. The COVID-19 pandemic, opioid and suicide epidemics, an economic slowdown with widespread unemployment, and racial unrest simultaneously impact the nation yet affect the Latinx community especially hard. Collectively, these crises exacerbate the behavioral health concerns for this community. A recent CDC study found that Hispanics have a higher prevalence of symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders, COVID-19–related trauma and stress-related disorders, suicidal ideation and increased substance use compared to all other non-Hispanic groups. The study also found 18.6% of Hispanic respondents reported seriously considering suicide in the past month, and 52% reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health symptom, exceeding all other population groups. Among COVID-related deaths among persons younger than 21 years old, 45% were Hispanic.

Latinx individuals are at increased risk and exposure to COVID-19. They are more likely to be employed in service industries and as essential workers—often lacking the option to telework and at higher risk for unemployment—than other populations. The pandemic has starkly revealed the disparities in access to health and behavioral health care among the Latinx community due to lack of insurance, lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate care, stigma, and transportation issues. Lack of access to technology for teleservices and concerns about policies such as the public charge law, which is perceived as risking eligibility for citizenship or permanent residency, also impede access to care.

In spite of these compounding crises, the Latinx community continues to show strength and resiliency – these are reasons to celebrate. For example:

1. Effective interventions developed for, and by Latinx behavioral health professionals are especially relevant in this time of multiple stressors. Familia Adelante, a Latinx-focused family strengthening intervention, offered in Spanish, virtually or in family groups, builds resilience, and acculturation and prevention strategies for adolescent substance use and other risky behaviors. Life is Precious is a suicide prevention intervention geared for Latina adolescents and young adults. Both interventions are relevant for behavioral health issues associated with the pandemic.
2. A Latinx behavioral health workforce, including promotoras, responds to the unique needs of their culture and community by developing community-driven engagement strategies to address community crises, such as the opioid epidemic. Some of these strategies are highlighted in SAMHSA’s issue brief, The Opioid Crisis and the Hispanic/Latino Population: An Urgent Issue, also recently released in Spanish.
3. Latinx-serving community-based organizations (CBOs), such as the Mary's Center, practice their social change model, which integrates primary care, behavioral health care, education, and social services, in language, to maximize good health, stability, and economic independence. A full-service center under one roof, they now offer telehealth services for staff and clients' safety.
4. National advocacy and policy entities, such as the National Latino Behavioral Health Association (NLBHA), provide critical information to the community, e.g., Facebook live sessions on Latino well-being during COVID, institutional racism, trauma and healing, suicide prevention, etc. NLBHA operates SAMHSA’s National Hispanic and Latino Addiction Technology Transfer Center and National Hispanic and Latino Prevention Technology Transfer Center to build the workforce and the substance use prevention and treatment system to better serve the Latinx population across the country. SAMHSA’s National Hispanic and Latino Mental Health Technology Transfer Center provides training and technical assistance to improve the behavioral health workforce capacity for those serving the mental health needs of Latinx communities.

Communication, information, and social support are critical. Amid multiple crises, in-language communication may be lifesaving. Faith-based organizations and leaders are often trusted sources of information in Latinx communities. During the pandemic, virtual sermons, bible studies, and gatherings have provided cultural and spiritual support to provide hope and a sense of community to counter fear, anxiety, and social isolation. SAMHSA offers many useful resources in both English and Spanish, including items created to address current COVID-19 concerns. Some of these include:

Visit the SAMHSA Store for more Spanish-language products.

By: Elinore F. McCance-Katz, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use

Each and every day, SAMHSA works to ensure that substance misuse is prevented in America’s communities and that our nation’s mental health is strong. May marks Mental Health Awareness Month and this week, marks National Prevention Week.
The value of prevention cannot be overstated. Particularly, in these difficult times, we know that many may turn to substances to cope with the new stressors we are all now faced with. I have been inspired by community prevention efforts across this country. Preventionists who have already dedicated themselves to this cause have redoubled their efforts to create innovative solutions to provide prevention services while observing social distancing and stay-at-home orders.

By: Neeraj Gandotra, M.D., Chief Medical Officer

By: Roslyn Holliday Moore, Public Health Analyst, and Victoria Chau, Public Health Analyst, SAMHSA Office of Behavioral Health Equity

By: Johnnetta Davis-Joyce, M.A., Director, SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention