In this quarter’s segment of the Prevention Specialist Domain Series, we will be discussing how to further develop skills and competency in public policy and environmental change for prevention professionals.
What are Environmental Strategies and How do we affect change in our communities?
Environmental strategies incorporate prevention efforts aimed at changing or influencing community conditions, standards, institutions, structures, systems and policies. These strategies must be tailored to local community characteristics. Your coalition must assess and address the root causes and local conditions around the specific problem you are trying to change. An example of this could be seeing that a lack of enforcement of identification checks for purchase of alcohol or tobacco in convenience stores leads to an increase of underage access; Environmental strategies to incorporate could be looking to educate on the effects of alcohol and tobacco on underage youth, encouraging vendors and merchants to require identification for sales and to participate in community prevention efforts, and collaborating with local law enforcement to assist in enforcing the law through compliance checks.
Environmental strategies can produce quick wins and instill commitment toward long-term impact on practices and policies within a community. They also require substantial commitment from various sectors of the community to contribute to sustainable community change. Such approaches potentially reach entire populations and reduce collective risk. They create lasting change in community norms and systems, producing widespread behavior change and, in turn, reducing problems for entire communities.
Check back next month as we take a dive into Environmental Strategies and the Foundations for Community Change!
*Material and references taken from:
CADCA National Coalition Institute (2010). The coalition impact: Environmental prevention strategies. CADCA Training. Alexandria, VA. https://www.cadca.org/resource/the-coalition-impact-environmental-prevention-strategies/
