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with the Community Backyard (CBY) program to <br />create a Coalition to address these issues. The <br />Coalition has since expanded to include additional <br />community segments-all of which were represented <br />in November 2009 at the second Annual Community <br />Forum on Alcohol and Drug Use among Teens <br />These segments of the community include health <br />care professionals, schools, law enforcement, <br />government agencies, businesses, youth, parents, <br />media, youth-serving agencies, faith or fraternal <br />organizations, civil or volunteer groups, and others. <br />Although there is a strong representation from most <br />sectors, the AFA Coalition aims to better engage the <br />faith community and parents. One way that parents <br />have been getting involved is through the Safe <br />Homes Network (SHN), for which parents sign a <br />good faith pledge to not knowingly allow youth (under <br />21) to consume or use alcohol or illegal drugs at their <br />home, on their property, or at gatherings they are <br />hosting. The AFA Coalition also plans to recruit <br />parents participating in the SHN to create an active <br />Parent Council for northern Orange County. <br />In the southern part of the county, Healthy <br />Carolinians has been an active partner with the <br />Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Free Teenagers <br />(CADET), an organization that has increased <br />community awareness about the problems <br />associated with underage alcohol and drug use. <br />CADET, in partnership with CHCCS and Healthy <br />Carolinians, instituted a SHN and developed parent <br />and community education programs on adolescent <br />substance abuse. For example, Talk it up! Lock it up! <br />and Operation: Medicine Cabinet are CADET <br />campaigns encouraging parents to be pro-active in <br />denying teen access to alcohol and prescriptive <br />drugs in the home and is supported by CHCCS and <br />the Chapel Hill Police Department. <br />AFA Coalition members also participated in Project <br />Graduation-a drug and alcohol free venue to <br />celebrate graduation; and in National Night Out, <br />where they worked with neighborhood watch <br />agencies and law enforcement. Since there is an <br />unmet need for transportation in the upper half of the <br />county, AFA contracted with the Orange County <br />Department of Transportation to provide <br />transportation to 25 families in the Fairview, Whitted <br />Forest and Gateway communities. <br />In September, Teens for <br />Healthy Living, the <br />newly formed Youth <br />Leadership Council, <br />hosted an alcohol and <br />drug free event called <br />Free Fair All for their <br />peers and families. ~~M <br />Activities included a DJ, <br />raffle prizes, games and food; as well as educational <br />components like booths, alcohol/drug related trivia <br />games, hourly readings of relevant statistics, and a <br />mock-car crash organized by the Hillsborough Police <br />Department in cooperation with Orange County EMS. <br />In addition, the AFA Coalition is working closely with <br />the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation <br />(PIKE) to analyze existing data on the prevalence of <br />alcohol and substance use among adolescents in <br />Hillsborough and Northern Orange counties; and to <br />develop the tools for parent surreys, youth and <br />parent focus group questionnaires, and a community <br />readiness assessment. <br />The information thus collected will be used to refine <br />the 2010 Action Plan, inform upcoming environmental <br />and policy change efforts, and build on the <br />momentum created by the ongoing activities of the <br />Coalition. <br />Orange County Tobacco. Reality. Unfiltered. (TRU) <br />The Orange County Youth Tobacco-Use Prevention <br />Program trains TRU Peer Educators to teach others <br />through interactive activities, media literacy, and <br />advocacy programs about the dangers of tobacco <br />use. The TRU Program has a strong collaboration <br />with both school districts in the County, and has an <br />established presence in each of the five local high <br />schools. During the past six years, the program has <br />trained 130 TRU Peer Educators and made a <br />significant impact on health outcomes in Orange <br />County. <br />rca8,a ceo ~~Al.~TY uN~r~-~~'~.~n <br />R~1°+t-l TYt11~T 1~t C.T~RIr D . Ct)1+~^t <br />TRU is a student-led program funded through a grant <br />first received in 2003 from the NC Health and <br />Wellness Trust Fund (HWTF). In June 2009, the <br />Orange County Health Department was awarded <br />$274,848 in funding from HWTF to continue the <br />program from 2009-2012. According to the 2009 <br />10 <br />