Monroe coalition rolls out survey

Coaltion to inform prevention, wellness initiative strategies

The Monroe Community Coalition has rolled out its 2016 community survey, and is asking community members to support coalition efforts by providing one of its most valuable tools — data.

The coalition is a volunteer-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the community by reducing underage drinking and substance use. The coalition’s 2016 Community Prevention Wellness Initiative (CPWI) survey targets adults 18 and over that reside in boundaries of the Monroe School District. The survey is anonymous, and can be completed online or in writing. Questions include perceptions of substance use in the community, retail marijuana use and legal consequences.

Data collected in the survey helps shape coalition efforts and inform its initiatives based on the needs of the community it serves.

Monroe Public Schools prevention specialist Joe Neigel heads the coalition. The coalition is funded through the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery (DBHR) CPWI, using state and federal grant money. A minimum number of survey responses are a requirement of the grant.  

“We’re required by our funder to do a yearly survey of adult perceptions around substance abuse,” Neigel said. “Our requirement for a community of our size is a minimum of 230 survey responses, and our goal is to have those collected by the end of November.”

Another goal of the survey is to reach as wide a demographic as possible, Neigel said, so they are better able to analyze attitudes and perceptions. Some of the most valuable data collected last year was related to cigarettes and the use of vaping devices, particularly among the youth, Neigel said. From the data, they were able to discern that the community supported taking a closer look at vaping.

In addition to using data from its annual community survey, the coalition relies on data collected from youth during the biannual DBHR Healthy Youth Survey (HYS), which is administered to Monroe Public Schools students in eighth, 10th and 12th grade. It was data collected during the 2014 HYS that put vaping on the coalition’s radar, showing a significant increase in youth engagement.

According to the numbers, one in four students at Monroe High School identified as current users of vaping devices, which reflected a 676 percent increase over the data collected in 2012. While cigarette use among youth remained relatively flat from 2012-14, use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices increased across all three age categories.

Part of the coalition’s mission and vision is to prevent underage drinking and substance use by working to identify key risk factors that are conducive to alcohol and substance use, and then work preemptively to diminish those risks. The coalition is not transmitting a message that vaping causes alcohol and substance use, but it has identified an association between the two, using scientific data, Neigel said.

According to the 2014 HYS, youth who engage in vaping are more than three times more likely to use alcohol; more than nine times more likely to use cigarettes; five times more likely to use marijuana; almost 10 times more likely to misuse prescription medications and almost 13 times more likely to use other illicit drugs. Other objections to vaping include widespread marketing that targets youth, including e-juice in flavors like vanilla cupcake and gummy bear.

According to the Snohomish Health District, e-juice is not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Manufacturers don’t have to identify what they put in the products, but it has been determined that most ingredients are not meant for human consumption, according to the district. 

Coalition members approached the Monroe City Council earlier this year, asking them to help implement a policy to deter vaping and smoking in public parks. Restricting the use of cigarettes and vaping devices in public areas helps send a message about social norms, by publicly affirming that those activities are not encouraged in the community, Neigel said.

While the Monroe City Council opted not to implement an outright prohibition of cigarettes and vaping devices in city parks due to issues surrounding enforcement, it is in the process of drafting a new administrative policy to discourage both activities. During council discussion, councilmembers directed that $2,000 should be set aside to purchase new signage that includes the no-vaping language.

Neigel reached out to the Snohomish Health District to see if there was a way to partner on that, utilizing signs acquired by the district with grant funding.

“The health district will provide the signage to the city, with the city logo, at no cost to the city,” Neigel said. “So, that $2,000 set-aside is now freed back up for the general fund.”

While not an ordinance, the administrative policy is a great first step, Neigel said.    

“This is a success for us,” he said. “We proposed the policy action, the city delivered on the policy action, our media partners covered the change and our other coalition partners helped with signage. This is a victory.”

In addition to maximizing the funding it receives as a CPWI coalition, Neigel is constantly on the lookout for supplementary grant opportunities to enhance coalition efforts. Another data-informed initiative again addressed 2014 HYS data, which indicated that suicidal ideation was higher in Monroe than elsewhere in the state. Efforts led by the Monroe Youth Coalition addressed this need, including an award-winning suicide prevention and awareness campaign. The Monroe Youth Coalition is an arm of the Monroe Community Coalition made up of students at Monroe High School.
Neigel successfully applied for I-502 Dedicated Marijuana Account (DMA) funding to implement a program at the high school called Sources of Strength, a cost-effective, evidence-based mental health and suicide prevention initiative. Sources of Strength remains one of the youth coalition’s key strategies.

Every bit of data collected by the coalition is used to its fullest potential, said Neigel, which is something he hopes will inspire more people to take the 2016 survey. The survey is made up of 32 questions and takes about five minutes to complete, he said.

The Monroe Community Coalition is grassroots, made up of community members, parents, members of the faith community and numerous partner organizations including Take the Next Step, the Snohomish Health District, Housing Hope and others. The group meets at 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the Monroe Public Schools Administrative Building near downtown Monroe.

To take the 2016 survey in Spanish, visit https://es.surveymonkey.com/r/SNMOSP2016. In English: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SNMOON2016.
To obtain a hard copy of the survey for submission, email Neigel at neigelj@monroe.wednet.edu. For more about the Monroe Community Coalition, visit monroecommunitycoalition.com.