Strategies and Programs

Effective substance use prevention is more than “just say no.” The Orange County Drug-Free Office endorses strategies and programs based on sound theory, academic research, and local expertise.

Our programs are implemented to change perceptions about:

• Availability (access to alcohol or other drugs)
• Acceptability (challenge norms that substance use is inevitable or a “rite of passage” for youth)
• Harm (educate the community on the physical, social, and mental costs of substance use)
• Bystander Intervention (when and how to seek help for someone who appears to be acutely intoxicated)
• Stigma (addiction happens, treatment works, and recovery matters)

To change belief systems (established norms) that lead to changes in behavior, individuals need to hear the same message from at least three different areas of the community (church, home, school, community, parents, doctor, etc.). Multiple strategies across diverse areas of our community create and sustain successful prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery efforts.

Through community involvement and sharing of resources, the Drug-Free Office works with private sector partners in government agencies, non-profit agencies, and individual community members to create and sustain a unified message that the health and welfare of our community matters. We strive to limit the harm done to individuals and families by alcohol, tobacco, and other drug misuse.