Youth Substance Use Prevention
Youth Substance Use Prevention – Community Led Youth Resilience and Prevention Efforts
Preventing youth substance use is a community wide effort! Southwest District Health is the recipient of the Partnerships for Success Grant (PFS), for communities, from Department of Health and Human Services through the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
SWDH utilizes this grant to support locally led initiatives to prevent youth alcohol, marijuana, and stimulant use and to promote positive youth mental well-being with a focus on youth aged 10-19. The PFS grant prioritizes partnering to serve rural and frontier regions, Spanish speaking populations, and populations who qualify as ALICE (asset limited income constrained and employed).
The goal of this work is to support community partners in building capacity in their substance use prevention efforts by providing funding, technical assistance, and resources.
On this page, you’ll find funding and training opportunities, and information about projects that the PFS grant is working on or has supported. You’ll also find resources and tools that you can use to support young people in choosing to be substance free.
Prevention Resources for Professionals
- ADAPT Prevention Intervention Resource Center
- Idaho Office of Drug Policy Prevention Resource Library
- Prevention Technology Transfer Center Network
Training Opportunity
Want to improve your ability to talk to adolescents about substance use? Request a “How to talk to adolescents about substance use” SBIRT training for your youth-serving organization by completing this brief application.
If you’re a community member who is interested in partnering on a project to prevent youth substance use in your community, please contact the Partnerships for Success project coordinator Tara Woodward at tara.woodward@swdh.id.gov
Visit us at https://swdh.myshopify.com to find free community health resources that will support your organization, your family, or your coalition!
Funding Opportunity
Southwest District Health is now accepting applications for the 2025–2026 Youth Alcohol, Marijuana, and Stimulant Substance Use Prevention Mini-Grants, funded through SAMHSA’s Partnerships for Success Grant. This opportunity supports youth-serving organizations in Health District 3 (Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, and Washington counties) in their efforts to prevent youth (ages 10-19) substance use.
Funding will support community-led strategies that strengthen youth and families, promote positive youth development, and prevent substance use among youth. Eligible projects include evidence-informed prevention programs, environmental and/or policy changes, and professional development for youth-serving professionals.
Priority application deadline: Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 5:00 PM (MT)
Apply here: https://swdhidaho.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_barN2QDa8DMshNA
Please review the full subgrant solicitation prior to applying. All projects must directly address the prevention of youth alcohol, marijuana, and stimulant use.
For questions or to join the Q&A call on Thursday, July 24 from 3 – 4 pm email Tara Woodward at tara.woodward@swdh.id.gov.
- Marsing, Southwest Idaho Communities for Youth
- How to talk to youth about substance use SBIRT trainings
- Positive Action
- 3rd Millennium Prevention & Intervention Program
- Community Education Events
- Youth Support Groups
- Active Parenting of Teams
- Planet Youth, New Meadows and Tri-Valley
- Distribution of Prescription Drug Disposal Pouches and Medication Lockboxes
- Be the Parents campaign and educational information dissemination
- Youth Mental Health Screening and Referrals
- Caldwell Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council Sticker Shock Campaign
- Botvin Lifeskills for Parents Community Classes
- DITEP Trainings
- Tall Cop Says Stop “High in Plain Sight” Drug Trends Presentation
- Outlast ID Campaign
While youth substance use has declined over the years, there is still work to be done to bring those numbers down further. We know this because in 2021, youth in western Idaho reported that:
- 34% have had at least 1 drink of alcohol
- 13% used marijuana
- 10% misused prescription drugs
- 18% used a vape pen or e-cigarette
- .6% used methamphetamines
Underage Alcohol Consumption:
Youth most often report drinking alcohol at home (54%), and getting alcohol from a friend (41%), or family member (37%) for free.
Marijuana:
Youth report smoking (82%), vaporizing (34%), or dabbing (36%) marijuana. They most often get it for free from a friend or family member (44%). Others report buying it (29%) or taking it (13%) from a family member or friend. 14% report buying it from a marijuana dispensary, and 30% purchased from a dealer or stranger.
Methamphetamines:
Youth who misused prescriptions most often used them at home (74%), and either were given (16%), or took them (21%) from a family member or friend. 52% reported misusing their own prescription, and 23% reported getting them “some other way”.
Risk Factors for Substance Use:
14.9% of youth reported that they felt depressed in the last 30 days, and 17% considered suicide in the past year.
Parents are one of the strongest protective factors against youth substance use. Youth reported that in the past 12 months, 60% had spoken with their parents/caregivers about the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, or drug use. In the past 6 months, only 48% of youth reported having a discussion with their parents about specific things they could do to stay away from drugs, and 54% had discussed family rules or expectations about using drugs.
*Data from the 2021, Idaho Healthy Youth Survey. Survey respondents are high school students (6th, 8th grade, 10th grade, and 12th grade), and lived in Health District 3 and 4.
If you are interested in collaborating with us to prevent and reduce substance use in your community, please contact Tara Woodward, at tara.woodward@phd3.idaho.gov or (208) 477-4998.
If you are interested in requesting prescription drug disposal pouches, prescription lockboxes, or other substance use prevention materials, please make a request here.