Prevention
For Youth
Red Ribbon Week
October 23-31, 2025:
Red Ribbon Week highlights the importance of living a drug-free life. It presents an opportunity for parents, educators, and communities to reinforce the drug-free messages they share with their children throughout the year. During Red Ribbon Week, youth and adults around the nation pledge to increase their knowledge by learning more about the destructive effects of drug abuse, including prescription drug misuse, and renew their commitment to live a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.
Make Positive Choices
September 2023:
The Make Positive Choices campaign begins for all ages and every community. No matter how young or old, everyone has choices to make in their lives. We want to teach the youth in our community that they have a voice and a choice over their lives - some are pretty small and some can be very BIG. No matter the options ahead, building resilience during tough times can be as simple as choosing to take a few minutes to simply breathe before making a choice.
Lambi Arrives in Southeast Kansas!
Do you know a child that has been impacted by someone with substance use disorder? Author Trish Luna, has written a beautifully illustrated story for children of every age.
"If we can teach children how to cope with big feelings, they will be able to create positive neural connections even while dealing with extremely difficult situations."
Order your Lambi care kit from our Take Action tab! It's FREE to you if you live in the SEK counties of Allen, Bourbon, Coffey, Neosho, Wilson or Woodson counties in Kansas.
Prevention & Treatment
For Young Adults
National Prevention Week
May 10-16, 2026:
National Prevention Week is a public education platform showcasing the work of communities and organizations across the country that are preventing substance use and misuse — and promoting positive mental health.
Youth transitioning into adulthood have some of the highest rates of alcohol and substance misuse. For instance, in 2018, an estimated 35 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25 were binge drinkers (drank five or more drinks on a single occasion) in the past month compared to 4.7 percent of 12 to 17-year-olds and 25 percent of adults aged 26 or older.
Among young adults, those living in rural areas may be at greater risk as they have higher rates of alcohol and methamphetamine use than urban youth and are more likely to have engaged in driving under the influence of alcohol or other illicit substances.
For young adults, an adaptive and protective coping strategy is help seeking—or knowing when to seek help, feeling confident in one’s abilities, and comfortable enough to seek care for distress or suspected mental health disorders. This is an especially important issue for individuals who may feel like they can and should deal with mental health issues alone, are accustomed to parents arranging care, or do not readily recognize they may have a problem.
For more information on how you can get involved or to find free public resources, check out the National Prevention Week and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) webpages.
If you are interested in learning more about substance misuse causes and prevention for young adults, read SAMHSA's evidence-based resource guide.
Prevention & Treatment
For Adults
SAMHSA
Addiction Can Affect Anyone:
People from all backgrounds experience addiction. Addiction doesn't care how old you are, how much money you make, or the color of your skin; it has no bias. While the initial choice to use a drug is often voluntary, the powerful effects of addiction makes it very hard to stop, even if someone wants to.
When drugs or alcohol are used so often that they have significant negative effects on your life, making it unlivable to the quality it was before, this is called a substance use disorder.
It causes intense cravings for alcohol or drugs, and can include:
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Using illegal drugs like heroin or cocaine, or excessive alcohol drinking.
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Using prescription drugs in ways other than prescribed, or using someone else's prescription.
It's hard to stop on your own.
Addiction is a chronic and treatable disease. Using drugs repeatedly changes the brain, including the parts that help exert self-control. That's why someone may not be able to stop using drugs, even if they know the drug is causing harm, or feel ready to stop.
Some common behaviors of addiction and substance use disorder include:
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Trying to stop or cut down on drug use, but not being able to.
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Using drugs because of being angry or upset with other people.
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Taking one drug to get over the effects of another.
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Making mistakes at school or on the job because of using drugs.
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Drug use hurting relationships with family and friends.
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Being scared at the thought of running out of drugs.
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Stealing drugs or money to pay for drugs.
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Being arrested or hospitalized for drug use.
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Developing a tolerance, and needing larger amounts of drugs or alcohol to get high.
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Overdosing on drugs.
Recovery starts with asking for help.
It takes courage to seek help for a drug problem. But remember: treatment works, there are many paths to help, and people recover every day.
Like other chronic diseases, addiction can be managed successfully. It can take several attempts at treatment to find the right approach. Treatment helps people disrupt addiction's powerful effects on the brain and behavior and regain control of their lives.
FindTreatment.gov is a confidential and anonymous resource for persons seeking treatment for mental and substance use disorders in the United States and its territories. It offers guidance about what to expect when looking for treatment, including different kinds of treatment and understanding how to pay for treatment, as well as more information on the impacts of addiction on mental health.
Prevention & Treatment
For Families
SAMHSA
Mental Health Multimedia Resources for Children and Families:
There is not a one-size-fits-all solution for helping a family member living with a mental or substance use disorder, but family support can play a significant role in their recovery. It is important for caregivers to understand the need to prioritize their own health as well, when supporting a loved one. Help get the message out by sharing these resources designed to inform and engage
Parent and Caregiver Resources:
Talking to children about mental illness and substance use can be an opportunity for parents and caregivers to provide their children with information, support, and guidance. Mental illness and substance use in children can be hard for parents and caregivers to identify. As a result, many children who could benefit from treatment don't get the help they need. It’s important to know what to watch for and how to get help.
SAMHSA provides a list of resources to help stay informed.