Partners in Prevention (PIP) is an initiative to help create connections among local community partners to address substance use/misuse and suicide prevention. The PIP toolkit includes resources and information for multiple community sectors to increase awareness and promote evidence-based prevention strategies. It provides support for substance use/misuse and suicide prevention and aims to help reduce the stigma related to behavioral health.
The goals of Partners in Prevention are to:
- Connect with the sectors identified below to increase knowledge and awareness of their roles in substance use/misuse and suicide prevention and build community capacity to address those issues locally.
- Increase protective factors while decreasing risk factors among local communities.
- Increase the capacity of Regional Prevention Centers (RPCs) to work with the identified sectors and create working partnerships.
Quick facts:
- Partners in Prevention was developed by Comprehend Regional Prevention Center in 2017.
- In 2019, it was adopted by the Kentucky Regional Prevention Centers as a statewide project.
- PIP works with the 12 sectors identified in the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Grant application as vital to local prevention efforts:
- Youth
- Parents
- Law Enforcement
- Schools
- Businesses
- Media
- Youth-serving organizations
- Civic and volunteer groups
- Healthcare professionals
- State, local, and tribal agencies with expertise in substance misuse
- Other organizations involved in reducing substance misuse
- Increased absence from work or school
- Any unexplained changes in behavior
- Changes in appetite or sleep pattern
- Unusual or increased irritability
- Financial problems
- Changes in personal grooming
- Relationship problems
Potential Warning Signs of Suicide
- Suicide threats
- Previous suicide attempts
- Misuse of alcohol and other substances
- Sudden changes in behavior
- Prolonged, untreated depression
- Making final arrangements
- Giving away prized possessions
- Purchasing a gun or stockpiling pills