6
vernonia prevention coalition
january8
2013
The content on this page is provided by the Vernonia Prevention Coalition
Be a Piece of the Puzzle: The Common Sense of Prevention
By DeAnna Pearl
Have you heard this
before? “Why don’t people
use the common sense God gave them?”
What is common sense? Common
sense is defined by Merriam-Webster
as, “sound and prudent judgment based
on a simple perception of the situation
or facts. The Cambridge Dictionary
defines it as, “the basic level of practical
knowledge and judgment that we all
need to help us live in a reasonable and
safe way.”
Whichever definition
is used, identifying particular items
of knowledge as “common sense” is
difficult. Common-sense ideas tend to
relate to events within human experience.
For most youth and adults,
their human experience is gleaned from
their environment (home, school, or
community) they live in. Thus it is good
common sense to apply prevention efforts
at the community level thus altering our
shared environment to better sustain
community level change. This approach
is to attempt to alter the environment
in which all children encounter threats
to their health--including illicit drugs,
alcohol, and tobacco. While we can offer
a child or family many skills to utilize
to help make healthy choices, they also
need an environment where making
healthy choices are normal.
A shared environment represents
the world in which children face and cope
with health threats. Properly designed
and managed, the shared environment
can support healthy behavior and thwart
risky behavior for all children, regardless
of how well prepared they may be by
their individualized environments. How
do we shift our shared environment
belief system from the ME to WE in an
effort to support healthy behavior while
thwarting risky behavior?
First we need to gauge the
community’s level of passion, energy,
and engagement. Where people care
deeply, the energy and
passion is high. When
people are not overly
concerned with anything
more than what they get
out of the community
experience,
there
is
apathy and a low-level
of engagement. Some
measure of intensity is
a good thing. We must
cross reference this with
the overall quality of
relationships and commitment to building
community or shared environments.
Where people form strong
relationships,
the
energy
and
commitment is positive; where people
form poor relationships (or where
relationships simply aren’t important)
the energy and commitment is low or
negative. Where the passion is low
and the relationships are poor, people
are relatively disengaged and the
environment is resigned. It is very easy
for people to “check-out,” to simply walk
away and just stay home. People drift
to inactivity when the commitment and
connection is low. This is often during
times of conflict comprising the resigned
environment within the community.
Where people hold deep, strong
feelings and are committed to their own
Parents - Keep Talking
Most Vernonia 8th graders, up to 81%, report their parents have CLEAR
rules about alcohol and drugs. (Student Wellness Survey, 2012)
Most Vernonia 8th graders, between 82% - 95%, report their parents
would think it is very wrong to use alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. (Student
Wellness Survey, 2012)
Most Vernonia 8th graders, between 85% - 98%, report zero times of try-
ing alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. (Student Wellness Survey, 2012)
They are listening!
2012-2013 Vernonia Prevention Coalition Sector Representatives
Position
Name
Sector
Contact
Affiliation
Government
(503) 429-4232
COV Mayor
Chair
Josette Mitchell
Vice Chair
Pete Weisel
Exec. Board
Dr. Ken Cox
Media
(503) 429-5891
VSD Superintendent
Nic Welch
Faith
(503) 748-9193
Vernonia Comm. Church
Parents
Talking
School - Keep
(503)
429-3521
VHS Councilor
Most Vernonia 8th graders, up to 81%, report their parents have CLEAR
Shawn Carnahan
Police
(503) 429-4232
COV Police
rules about alcohol
and drugs.
(Student Wellness Survey, 2012)
Exec. Board
Board Member
Sector
Member
Mark
Brown
Faith
Most
Vernonia
8th
graders, between
961-5281
Vernonia parents
Comm. Church
82% (503)
- 95%,
report their
would
think it Breanne
is very
to use alcohol,
other
drugs.
(Student
Mares wrong Prevention
(503) tobacco
396-7637 and Col.
County
Mental Health
Board
Member
Wellness Survey, 2012)
Heidi Brown
Business
Board Member
Gina 8th
Fields
Parent
Board
Member
Most
Vernonia
graders, between
Kathy Kelly or
Board
ing Member
alcohol, tobacco
(503) 429-2787
Grey Dawn Gallery
429-6306
Parent Teacher
85% (503)
- 98%,
report zero
times Association
of try-
Serving
369-7249
Vernonia Head Start
other Youth
drugs.
(Student (503)
Wellness
Survey, 2012)
Board Member
Alexis Baska
Youth
(503) 429-3521
Sector Member
Michal Bathurst
Board Member
George Tice
Civic Org.
(503) 880-1627
Lions Club
Board Member
Ashley Swanson
Health Serv.
(503) 396-2074
Public Health Foundation of
Columbia County
Heather Lewis
Contractor
(503) 429-4677
Resource Coordinator
Youth are listening!
(503) 429-3521
They
O.S.S.O.M.
O.S.S.O.M.
VPC Mission:
To develop safe and healthy neighborhoods through collaborative planning, community action, policy advocacy
and enforcement.
opinions and agenda, but where the
relationships are weak, the environment
is generally corrosive and often toxic.
Here, the needs of the individual always
eclipse the good of the whole group.
Individuals are committed to getting
their own way, regardless of the cost
to the community as a whole. For
example, individuals know that driving
while under the influence is illegal but
do it anyway because it’s Vernonia.
Further, the police are often given a bad
time because they are doing their job:
enforcing local, state and federal laws
for the greater good.
This type of environment is
perpetually engaged in some conflict,
and there is an abundance of finger-
pointing, blaming, hurt feelings, gossip,
rumor, innuendo, and back-stabbing.
This environment only requires a few
participants to impact (negatively)
the entire community. The destructive
potential of allowing this environment to
dominate is immeasurable. These groups
have strong feelings but the passions for
engagement in programs and community
service to make change are slight. They
National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
suicidepreventionlifeline.org
Are you feeling desperate, alone or
hopeless? Call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline a free, 24-hour
hotline available to anyone in suicidal
crisis or emotional distress. Your call
will be routed to the nearest crisis
center to you.
Veterans Suicide
Prevention Hotline
1-800-273-TALK (8255) Press 1
believe their community is a place to
feel good, meet friends and to be with
like-minded people.
On the reverse, these same
individuals believe they should not
expect to be challenged, asked to change
or be burdened. Many times people have
been over heard saying, “...that’s how
it’s always been.” This is
a comfortable environment
for them:
high regard
with low demand. In this
environment, people come
to events to see what they
can get out of it, and mostly
they receive the good feeling
that comes from friendly and
pleasant experiences. Often
this environment is mistaken
for a healthy environment;
the absence of conflict,
stress and tension lulls us into believing
that things couldn’t possibly be better.
However, all it takes is a dividing issue
to arise and we find that our comfortable
environment turns corrosive in an
instant.
The truly healthy, creative,
productive environment comes when we
can blend the energy and passions of the
whole group with a strong concern and
regard for healthy relationships. When
the “We” supersedes the “Me” in a
community, the effect is transformative.
Where “all of us together” is more
important than any one individual, a safe
and healthy community is truly possible.
Those environments that work against
healthy, creative productivity (resigned,
corrosive, and comfortable) are all
“entitlement” environments. These
environments are created and sustained
by the singular question, “What’s in it
for me?”
The very mission of the Vernonia
Prevention Coalition is to increase
capacity for organizations, school and the
community by challenging assumptions
and expectations to better understand the
nature a safe and healthy community.
Avoiding conflict is no solution. We
must learn to navigate the difficulties
of differing values and opinions while
creating healthy, productive, creative
shared environments. This can begin by
asking, “What is in it for us?” It’s just
good common sense.
DeAnna Pearl is the Director of the
Vernonia Prevention Coalition. She can
be reached at 503-369-7370, DeAnna@
vernonia-or.gov.