The skills to stay healthy, taught before they're needed.
Prevention Education is the coalition’s front line: evidence-based sessions that give students, families, and professionals a clear-eyed understanding of substance use and the tools to make healthy choices — long before a crisis ever starts.
What a session covers
- How substances affect the developing brain
- Recognizing pressure and risky situations
- Refusal skills and healthy coping
- Where to turn for help — and how to ask
- Reducing stigma around substance use
K–12+
Sessions tailored from elementary through adult audiencesOften free
Most sessions are offered at no cost to local groupsCountywide
Schools, workplaces, and community spaces across Starke County
Cheaper, kinder, and more effective than treatment alone.
Evidence-based
We use programs and curricula shown to work, matched to what our county assessment reveals — not one-off scare tactics.
Early & ongoing
Skills land best before pressures arrive and are reinforced over time — so prevention isn’t a single assembly but a through-line.
Built for Starke County
Content reflects local realities — the substances, pressures, and resources that actually show up here, in language that fits.
Same mission, tailored to you.
Meeting young people where they are.
What We Offer
Classroom sessions
Single visits or multi-session units matched to grade level.Peer-led programs
Student prevention groups that carry the message further than any adult can.Anti-vaping campaigns
PSAs, media, and messaging built by students, for students.Assemblies & events
School-wide presentations and awareness days across the calendar.
The people who shape choices most.
What We Offer
Talking-tips workshops
How to start — and keep having — the conversation at every age.Warning-sign guidance
What to watch for, and what's normal — without the panic.Family resource navigation
A clear map to local support, so you're never searching alone.Community info nights
Open evening sessions at schools, churches, and community spaces.
Equipping the people on the front lines.
What We Offer
Professional development
Trainings that count toward continuing education where applicable.Recognize & refer training
Spot the signs and connect people to the right local resource.Ready-to-use materials
Curricula, handouts, and toolkits you can put to work immediately.Cross-sector collaboration
Connect with other professionals doing this work countywide.
What we actually cover.
Sessions are shaped to the audience and the need, but they draw from a consistent, evidence-based body of topics — the things that genuinely move the needle on prevention.
- Vaping & nicotine
- Alcohol
- Marijuana & cannabis
- Prescription misuse
- Opioids & fentanyl awareness
- The developing brain
- Peer pressure & refusal skills
- Healthy coping & stress
- Mental health connection
- Social media & risk
- Recognizing warning signs
- Finding & asking for help
- Reducing stigma
Bringing it to your group is simple.
Reach out
Call 219- 742-2285 or email us with your group, rough size, and what you're hoping to cover.
We tailor it
We match the right session, audience level, and length — and set a date that works for you.
We deliver
A coalition presenter runs the session at your school, workplace, or community space. Often at no cost.
Good to know.
Does a session cost anything?
Most prevention education sessions are offered free to schools, families, and community groups in Starke County, supported through the coalition’s grant funding. If there’s ever a cost for specialized materials, we’ll tell you up front.
What ages do you work with?
Content is tailored from elementary school through high school, plus parents, professionals, and adult community groups. We match the material and approach to the age and setting.
How long is a typical session?
It depends on the format — from a single class period or assembly to a multi-session unit or an evening workshop. We’ll work out the right length with you when you reach out.
Is this just about drugs and alcohol?
No. Effective prevention connects to mental health, stress and coping, peer pressure, and healthy decision-making. We cover the whole picture, not just substances in isolation.
Who actually delivers the sessions?
Sessions are led by coalition staff and trained presenters, often alongside peer educators for youth audiences. All content is evidence-based and reviewed against our Community Action Plan priorities.