Jones County Safe and Healthy Youth Coalition

The Coalition vision for Jones County is a safe, healthy place to live, work and play. The Jones County Safe and Healthy Youth Coalition strives to reduce alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, prescription drug, and other substance misuse among youth and adults. We are a group of local residents, professionals, and youth who have been working together for the past 18 years working on a common goal. From 2002 to 2021, reported binge drinking among Jones County 11th graders has dropped 44 percentage points (52% down to 8%)! In 2008, we expanded our efforts beyond underage drinking. Since 2008 reported marijuana use among 11th graders dropped by 11 percentage points (from 16% to 5%). Youth cigarette use has also continued to decline, but youth e-cigarette use climbed unacceptably in recent years. The Coalition is focusing on this and the number of youth using e-cigarettes is starting to go down. By not only focusing on youth, but focusing on adults providing a healthy environment for youth through healthy policies and messages, we are improving the culture related to youth substance use. We support youth advocacy groups through our coalition and in our Jones County schools with training and also recruit, train, and engage adults to work on these issues on behalf of youth. Our media campaigns and events focus on the strengths of our youth and community and encourage positive, safe, and healthy behaviors for all. The Coalition has been focusing more on mental wellness promotion for the last few years and recently officially added that to our mission statement.