The tireless work of a community coalition

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When the Hempstead Town Board passed a law last week requiring businesses that sell vaping products to post large signs about its dangers — there to share in the credit was the Levittown Community Action Coalition and YES Community Counseling Center.

Members of both groups spoke before the Town Board about the manipulative marketing of the harmful products to children, in favor of the bill proposed by Legislator Dennis Dunne of Levittown, a member of the LCAC.

When you and your neighbors are given an opportunity to shed unwanted medications from your medicine cabinets conveniently nearby next month, there will be members of the coalition and treatment center on hand there as well.

On October 27, as part of national drug take back day, you can anonymously drop off any unused medications at Wisdom Lane Middle School in Levittown from 10am-1pm.

The members of the Levittown Community Action Coalition aren’t about to let the fact that they were not awarded a federal government grant stop them from working hard to root out substance abuse in their neighborhoods.

In fact, they say it will make them work even harder.

“LCAC continues to stay focused on our mission and vision for the Levittown/Island Trees Community on prevention and education.” said Corinne Alba, Director of Outreach and Prevention at YES and co-chair of LCAC. “We are confident our important work will become the foundation for future grant opportunities. We will continue to work tirelessly to change our corner of the world.”

The members of the group represent all the different aspects of a community: police, medics and firefighters; girl scouts, library staff, substance abuse treatment professionals, media, elected officials, clergy, parents, school officials, funeral homes, chamber of commerce and students.

The two working subcommittees of the LCAC – community and school - have come up with several areas of focus they think is most critical, and that the coalition is pursuing.

One area of focus for the community subcommittee is physician education not only on prescribing narcotics in office and hospital settings, but on detecting addiction in patients.

According to Jamie Bogenshutz, executive director of YES, doctors can now be reimbursed for asking patients a set of questions designed to assess whether a patient is abusing drugs, is depressed or suicidal. The set of questions is called SBIRT – or Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. SBIRT is an evidence-based practice used to identify, reduce, and prevent problematic use, abuse, and dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs.

Another issue the community subcommittee plans to further address is the stigma that still exists prominently in this and every neighborhood.

The school subcommittee identified parent and student engagement as its main focus. This includes finding ways to engage and empower parents and youth in preventing drug misuse and abuse.

LCAC’s mission: To create a safe, healthy and secure community for children and adults where untimely deaths and lives affected by addiction are reduced, through prevention, education and engagement.

Its vision: is for residents of the Levittown and surrounding communities to respond to life’s challenges without resorting to the use and abuse of alcohol, opiates or other drugs and to continue to support a community where people feel safe, valued, connected and empowered.