Healthy Missoula Youth

Who We Are

Healthy Missoula Youth is a coalition facilitated by Missoula Public Health and made up of multiple community partners working to prevent harms related to youth substance use. Our focus is to reduce rates of drinking, marijuana, tobacco use, as well as other harmful substances, among youth.

Mission

We address substance misuse through community collaboration and best practices to create a healthy local environment where youth can make informed decisions and thrive.

Vision

We envision a thriving Missoula County where individuals and families feel supported by their community and are empowered to make choices that positively impact their health around substances.

Goals

1. Strengthen community collaboration to prevent and reduce substance use among youth.
2. Address and change the laws and norms that lead to substance use among youth. 
3. Increase awareness about substance use related issues with parents, youth, and community members.
4. Engage with and empower students and their schools to lead youth substance use prevention and policy efforts.

Strengthen Community Collaboration

Preventing the harms related to substance use disorder (SUD) is complex, requiring collaborative work among local organizations, schools, neighborhoods, and leaders. Our coalition works with multiple agencies and individuals to address factors that increase the risk of early substance
use, and support interventions that promote
positive youth development.

Outreach and Education

Coalition members provide education related to youth substance use prevention for local school personnel, parents, youth and local leaders. Presentations and outreach include the potential harms related to early use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and other drugs, as well as what we can do to help prevent those harms

Change Local Conditions

Early substance use is NOT inevitable. There are a variety of conditions in any community that either make youth more or less likely to use substances. Our coalition promotes local policies, laws, and norms in our community that are proven to reduce rates of youth use. 

Coalition Leadership

Member Organizations

• All Nations Health Center
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters
• Boys and Girls Club of Missoula County
• Drive Safe Missoula
• Empower MT
• Frenchtown Community Coalition
• Friends of the Children
• Missoula County Public Schools
• Missoula Parks & Recreation
• Missoula Family YMCA
• Mountain Home Montana
• The Parenting Place
• Providence St. Patrick Hospital
• Western Montana Mental Health Center
• University of Montana Center – Curry Health Center Wellbeing
• Youth Dynamics
• Youth Homes
• YWCA Missoula

Are you interested in addressing youth alcohol and drug use in our community? Are you passionate about helping youth thrive and lead healthy lives? Join other community stakeholders, professionals, students, and town leaders and work to collaboratively reduce, prevent, and address youth substance use and related mental health challenges.

We meet monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of the month @ noon at Missoula Public Health.  In addition to our monthly meetings, there are opportunities to join subcommittees that focus on:

• Youth Engagement
• Policy and Law
• Outreach and Education

Email us at [email protected] if you’re interested in learning more or joining us for our next meeting.

We also have regular volunteer opportunities. Check out our Facebook page for more up-to-date information.

In the fall of 2022, the Policy and Law Committee decided to undertake an “environmental scan” or deep dive into the cannabis landscape in Missoula and its impacts on youth. Neighboring states have experienced shifts in patterns of youth use, social norms, hospitalizations, and more after legalizing cannabis for adult use, and we wanted to understand what was happening in our own community.

Please fill out this brief form to access the report.

The CannWeChat initiative is a project of the Healthy Missoula Youth Coalition. It is a public health media campaign designed to increase the number of parents and caregivers in Missoula County who talk with their children about the potential risks of underage marijuana use on a regular basis.

In 2023, members of Healthy Missoula Youth developed a toolkit that schools in Missoula County could use to help prevent substance use among their students. This toolkit provides a general overview of prevention practices identified by the Healthy Missoula Youth Coalition. Teachers and school staff can use this information as a guide to implement a strong prevention approach that supports Missoula youth.

The toolkit includes information on:

• Best Practices for Substance Use Prevention
• Evidence-Based Curriculum and Programming
• Teacher Resources
• School Policies and Interventions
• Youth-Led Programs
• Parent Resources

Please fill out this brief form to access the full toolkit:

Acknowledgments

A special thanks to the teachers of Missoula County, without whom this toolkit would not exist!

Contributing Authors

Jacqueline Kline, Tara Weaselhead, Reagan Mecham, Josie Hayes- Johnson, Jourdyn Browning, Leah Fitch-Brody