Coalition Employs Model to Prevent Alcohol-Related Issues

Using an approach that has seen success in other public health campaigns, the Common Vision Coalition is training and sending out “Promotores” to living rooms and community lobbies across the city in order to educate and protect people from harms related to binge and underage drinking. “We are excited to bring this new approach to preventing alcohol-related harm among our Spanish-speaking residents,” said Mario Saucedo, Common Vision Coalition chair. “These community leaders help inoculate our community against the health challenges of binge and underage drinking.” Initial training of the Promotores men and women took place last month, and they have begun gathering small groups in living rooms, churches and community centers throughout Redlands. “We have been hosting community dialogues in order to increase awareness of issues that stem from excessive alcohol use with the intention of increasing the health and safety of our beautiful city,” said Joanne Sanchez, resident of Redlands and one of the community outreach trainers. “We invite others to work together so that our city continues to be a safe and healthy place for our families.” Initially known as “Promotoras” and initially made up of Latino women, the model of engaging lay members of Latino communities to convene groups and engage them in dialogue and education around public health issues – including chronic disease management, lifestyle behavioral change (such as smoking cessation, dieting, increased physical activity), cancer prevention, HIV/AIDS and any other STI prevention, and injury prevention -- has been used to effectively promote better health among Latino populations for decades. Applying the “Promotores” approach to preventing problems related to alcohol and other drug use is still relatively new, but according to a University of Arizona report it is a promising way to reach Latino communities. Topics covered by the Common Vision Coalition Promotores outreach include: explorations of how alcohol is promoted and how to reduce negative impacts of binge and underage drinking within in Redlands and the Latino community. These special trainings are funded as part of a State Incentive Grant aimed at reducing problems related to alcohol and have been taking place in February and March. Saucedo and the Common Vision Coalition work closely with the Redlands Police Department to reduce problems related to alcohol and synthetic drugs in the community, and the Coalition is a key supporter of the Responsible Redlands initiative facilitated by the Redlands Police Department. The coalition supported the recent passage of the Deemed Approved Ordinance, which gives local police new tools to deal with problems related to alcohol outlets. The Common Vision Coalition (CVC) is a group of local parents, businesspeople, educators, health professionals, and others advocating for effective solutions to reduce problems related to alcohol and other drugs in Redlands. The Common Vision Coalition focuses on changing lives through public and private collaboration to create healthy neighborhoods and proactively engage youth, families and community leaders.