Monroe Community Coalition sets 2015-16 agenda

Suicide prevention and awareness, vaping regulations and comprehensive drug and alcohol abuse prevention are just a few of the items on the Monroe Community Coalition's agenda for the 2015-16 school year.

The Monroe Community Coalition is a volunteer-driven nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and wellness of the Monroe community by reducing underage drinking and substance use. Led by Monroe School District prevention specialist Joe Neigel, the coalition uses evidence-based prevention strategies to identify risk factors that are conducive to alcohol and substance use, and then works preemptively to diminish those risks.

The group meets at 1 p.m. on the second Thursday of every month at the Monroe Public Schools administration office in Monroe, 200 E. Fremont.

Monroe High School students make up the coalition's youth chapter. The youth coalition is considered an official high school club and has been focused on suicide prevention and awareness. The coalition is working to spread its message through the promotion of a video called "You Are Not Alone,GÇ¥ which was created by youth coalition members over the summer.

The coalition is funded through the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery's (DBHR) Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative (CPWI), and uses both state and federal grant money. Each year, the data-driven group decides how it will spend its money based on real-time information gleaned through surveys and research.

This year, the group implemented the PAX Good Behavior Game, which was presented to Chain Lake Elementary School by coalition chairperson Kerry Boone. The Good Behavior Game is a classroom-based strategy that uses positive interventions to encourage and increase academic success while decreasing disruptive behaviors.-á -á

"(The) Institute of Medicine considers the Good Behavior Game the most effective classroom-based prevention strategy in the United States,GÇ¥ Neigel said. "It has more than 40 years' worth of longitudinal data associated with it.GÇ¥

The coalition takes a multi-faceted approach to its prevention efforts by educating parents, teachers and other student-services staff with tactics meant to alter negative trajectories. Neigel has provided training to Monroe School District staff related to a study known as the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES), a comprehensive investigation into the health and social effects of traumatic childhood experiences.

ACES theory introduces the concept of "Kernels,GÇ¥ which are different evidence-based strategies that can be implemented in the classroom to help mitigate the effects of traumatic childhood experiences. Neigel introduced ACES at Park Place Middle School last year, and this month will be bringing the training to Monroe High School.

"I think we can turn ACES into a movement rather than a mandate,GÇ¥ Neigel said. "In terms of our professional staff who interact with students the most, they will all be trained.GÇ¥

Another call-to-action for coalition members this year relates to vaping.

During last month's coalition meeting, Neigel provided members with information on vaping devices. This month's-á discussion was focused on the Snohomish County Health District's newly released proposed ordinance regulating the use of vaping devices in Snohomish County. Vaping devices are small, battery-powered devices called "atomizersGÇ¥ that use a microprocessor and a small heater to vaporize nicotine. The devices use dissolved nicotine that is inserted into the atomizer via small cartridges filled with flavored propylene glycol.

Propylene glycol is what creates the "smokeGÇ¥ that a person exhales while vaping. Propylene glycol is a synthetic substance used in the paint, plastic, food and pharmaceutical industries.

The cartridges are sold as "e-juice,GÇ¥ or "e-liquid.GÇ¥ The e-liquid cartridges, which are available in flavors like bubble gum, watermelon and gummy bear, are sold with nicotine and without, and can be purchased with marijuana. Vaping has generally been considered a safe alternative to smoking, but the health district pointed out in a recent report that a lack of regulations on the manufacturing of e-liquids makes it impossible to say whether or not vaping is actually safe.

E-liquids are not currently regulated by the FDA, said the district, so manufacturers don't actually have to specify what they are putting into the products. According to the district, much of what goes into the e-liquids is, by definition, not fit for human consumption, including things like propylene glycol, benzene, lead, cadmium and nickel.

According to the district, there are more than 500 brands of e-liquid available in more than 7,000 different flavors. E-liquids are not subject to the regulations of the tobacco industry, so there is no quality control. Nicotine is highly addictive and highly toxic, and according to the district, most e-liquid contains nicotine, even if the label specifies "nicotine free.GÇ¥

The coalition has identified vaping as an area of concern because e-juice appears to be specifically marketed to youth, with flavors like "vanilla cupcake,GÇ¥ "cabin cakesGÇ¥ (waffles with butter and syrup) and "blue cotton candy.GÇ¥ In the state's 2014 Healthy Youth Survey, 25 percent of Monroe High School seniors identified as current users of vapor devices.

According to data presented by the health district, scientists have established a clear link between the use of nicotine and other substances. Further analysis of the 2014 Healthy Youth Survey done by the coalition indicated that, "youth engagement in vaping is associated with increased rates of engagement in other at-risk behaviors.GÇ¥

Coalition board president Tom MacIntyre refuted the concept that vaping is a safe alternative to cigarettes.

"It seems like the argument is that "it's better than,' but it's a continuum of negatives,GÇ¥ he said. "Getting into the positives has to be the focus, rather than building a continuum of negatives.GÇ¥

Pastor Michael Hanford asked the coalition to consider approaching the Monroe City Council with a proposal to tighten restrictions on vaping in the city. Neigel gave a range of possible regulations that could be proposed, including raising the minimum age for purchase, establishing buffer zones that would apply to stores that sell vaping products and signage restrictions.

The draft vaping ordinance proposed by the Snohomish County Health District was released on Thursday, Oct. 8. Neigel highlighted parts of the ordinance, which would broaden "smoking in public placesGÇ¥ laws to include vaping.

"The draft language that the board of health is putting out there right now applies all "smoking in public places' regulations to vaping, so that means vaping would be prohibited everywhere that smoking is prohibited,GÇ¥ Neigel said.

For more information on the Monroe Community Coalition, visit http://monroecommunitycoalition.com/. To view the You Are Not Alone Video created by the youth coalition, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONyOQZhS5i8.