Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee
Boys & Girls Clubs in Tennessee (BGC in TN) will engage in planning activities to develop the “PREVENTION WORKS” Program with four Club organizations serving the following East Tennessee counties that have been amongst the hardest hit by the opioid epidemic: (1) Boys & Girls Clubs of Dumplin Valley: Jefferson County (2) Boys & Girls Clubs of the Smoky Mountains: Sevier County (3) Boys & Girls Clubs of Clinch Valley: Anderson and Roane County, and (4) Boys & Girls Clubs of the Tennessee Valley: Knox, Blount, Loudon, and N. Anderson Counties. PREVENTION WORKS will explore and develop effective prevention programs and promising practices to both PREVENT youth from falling victim to opioid addiction AND SUPPORT youth at Clubs who have experienced trauma from family members who have abused opioids. With successful strategies and practices fully developed, the Clubs will be successful in providing key prevention services; reducing risk factors leading to addiction; and promoting resilience in children, families, and communities. Clubs will collaborate with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, DEA 360 and Operation Prevention, local anti-drug coalitions, local law enforcement agencies, and local colleges of social work or counseling programs. This program will financially be sustained through partnership contributions, along with resources secured from Boys & Girls Clubs of America and BGC in TN—both entities who are working diligently to secure federal, state, and local government grant dollars, as well as private foundation dollars for youth opioid prevention.
