Prevention Services

The Prevention Services Department of Oak Park Township works to enhance the quality of life in the community. We provide support through education and raising awareness to many of the physical and mental health challenges facing youth and their families with a focus on reducing underage drinking and substance abuse. As a way to educate and bring awareness of these issues, we offer many resources and programs within the community.

Contact Information

Kelly O’Connor
Prevention Services Manager
koconnor@oakparktownship.org

105 S. Oak Park Avenue
Oak Park, IL 60302
708-383-8005

Have you picked up your FREE set of conversation cards yet!?

If not, please stop by Oak Park Township (please call ahead) or River Community Center to pick up your set today!

Both facilities are open from 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday.

We hope these cards can help to facilitate an open and honest conversation with your youth while having fun as a Family.

If you would like a free substance use/mental health assessment or would like additional information please contact us and we will be happy to assist.

For more information please visit the following websites for some talking tips and resources:

Tips for Teens | www.samhsa.gov

Brochures and Fact Sheets | www.niaaa.nih.gov

Resources for Parents | https://rosecrance.org/resources-for-parents/

Fact Sheets | https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/StateFactSheets/IllinoisStateFactSheet.pdf

Community Coalition

The workgroup for Positive Youth Development (+PYD) uses the Strategic Prevention Framework. Our mission and vision is to provide practical insight and guidance to support youth in making choices that lead to alcohol and drug free lives.

For more information or to get involved, contact us at: koconnor@oakparktownship.org or 708-383-8005, ext. 125.

Oak Park Township Illinois +PYD infographic

Why a Coalition?

Being a Good Friend

Education and Support Groups

Video coming soon!

Parent and Youth Communication Campaigns

Project Towards No Drug Abuse

Compliance Checks and Responsible Beverage Service

Prevention Programs & Workshops

FACE-IT
(Families Acting Collaboratively to Educate and Involve Teens)

FACE-IT is a family-focused alcohol, tobacco, and other drug education, prevention, and early intervention program for youth and their parents or caregivers.

Virtual classes held every Tuesday evening. Middle School Program: 4:30pm-6pm & High School Program 6:30pm-8pm

Working together as a family boosts bonding and increases protective factors. Youth say parents are the number one reason why they choose not to use drugs and alcohol. FACE IT is an early intervention and prevention program for middle and high school students and their caregivers. For more information please contact; koconnor@oakparktownship.org or call 708.383.8005 ext.125.

Oak Park Township Illinois Prevention Services Face It Puzzle

VIEW | DOWNLOAD | PRINT Face-It Brochure (.pdf)

DOWNLOAD Face-It Registration Form (.doc)

VIEW | DOWNLOAD | PRINT Face-It Registration Form (.pdf)

Strengthening Families Program Winter 2022: Tuesdays from 6pm-8pm. January 18th to March 29th, 2022

Strengthening Families is a fun-filled 11-week parenting/family relationship skill-building class. Free for Oak Park and River Forest families with children ages 7-17 years of age. Dinner is provided; online/location to be determined.

Please call 708-410-0615 to register (Mention SFP in Oak Park). Click here for the 2022 program flyer with more details.

Health Connection Hub (The HUB):

The HUB is a closed-loop referral database that helps connect community members to the behavioral health and other social services that they need. Learn more and search for services at www.healthconnectionhub.org

Help & Hope by Text: Click this link for the website.

Parents and caregivers can sign up to receive tailored resources and skills delivered via text message.

How it works:
1. Text ‘JOIN’ to 55753
2. Answer a quick series of questions about your child and their substance use.
3. Receive messages with information and support specific to your family’s needs.

Partnership for Drug-Free Kids - Online support for Parents and Caregivers: Click this link for the website.

Out of Reach
(Prescription Medication Education for Adults)

COVID-19, Cannabis, and Vaping

There Are No Current Treatments or Cures for the Coronavirus

The Federal Trade Commission warned “There currently are no vaccines, pills, potions, lotions, lozenges or other prescription or over-the-counter products available to treat/cure #coronavirus (#COVID19). Coronavirus-related ad claims will be subject to exacting scrutiny.”

Learn More at ftc.gov

Potential Increased Risk of COVID-19 Due to Smoking or Vaping

NIDA concludes: “We can make educated guesses based on past experience that people with compromised health due to smoking or vaping and people with opioid, methamphetamine, cannabis, and other substance use disorders could find themselves at increased risk of COVID-19 and its more serious complications—for multiple physiological and social/environmental reasons. The research community should thus be alert to associations between COVID-19 case severity/mortality and substance use, smoking or vaping history, and smoking- or vaping-related lung disease.”

Learn More at the National Institute on Drug Abuse website

What’s Legal and What’s Not – Know the Rules

Wondering what’s allowed in Illinois? Some of the rules for cannabis are similar to the ones for alcohol, but there are also rules just for cannabis. Find out how to make safe and responsible choices and stay out of legal trouble.

Learn More at prevention.org

Using Cannabis: What You Need to Know

How strong is cannabis? Cannabis is stronger than it used to be because today’s plants contain higher amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Make sure you understand the health effects of cannabis on your mind and body, how to be safe, and the impacts of underage use.

Learn More at prevention.org

Video by Chicago Police Outline What’s Legal and Not Regarding the Recreational Marijuana Law

Starting Jan. 1, 2020, Illinois will allow the purchase, transportation and consumption of cannabis by adults 21 and older. And police want to make sure residents are prepared — and know what they can and can't do when it comes to legal weed.

Learn More at Patch.com

Vapes, E-cigarettes, and other Electronic Delivery Systems (nicotine, marijuana, other drugs)

Vapes, vaporizers, vape pens, hookah pens, electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes or e-cigs), and e-pipes are some of the many terms used to describe electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). ENDS are noncombustible tobacco products.

Learn More at FDA.gov

Cannabis, social media, and our teens

The American legal cannabis market is set to surpass $12 billion by the end of 2019. But as states legalize non-medical marijuana, they are facing regulation challenges quite different from the early days of alcohol and tobacco marketing: Social media allows cannabis brands to reach a new level of engagement and interaction with youth.

Learn More at BU School of Public Health

Marijuana Edibles Fact Sheet

Edible marijuana is very different - and more dangerous - than joints and other marijuana products.

View / Print / Download the Fact Sheet

Smart Approaches to Marijuana

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. We are professionals working in mental health and public health. We are bipartisan. We are medical doctors, lawmakers, treatment providers, preventionists, teachers, law enforcement officers and others who seek a middle road between incarceration and legalization. Our commonsense, third-way approach to marijuana policy is based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.

Learn More at learnaboutsam.org

Marijuana Facts for Teens

People smoke marijuana for a lot of different reasons: to feel good, to feel better, to feel different, or to fit in. Whatever the reason, drug use has consequences.

Learn More at drugabuse.gov

Talk Saves Lives^TM: An Introduction to Suicide Prevention

A community-based presentation that covers the general scope of suicide, the research on prevention, and what people can do to fight suicide.

Attendees will learn the risk and warning signs of suicide, and how together, we can help prevent it.

Learn More at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Website

Teens and Mental Health (translation in Spanish available for audio)

Adolescence isn’t an easy time for parents, either. As children move through the various tumultuous transitions that accompany adolescence — physical, emotional, hormonal, sexual, social, intellectual — the pressures and problems they encounter can all too easily seem overwhelming. For many teenagers, these and other pressures can lead to one or more of a variety of mental health disorders; all are matters of concern, and some are life-threatening.

Learn More at healthychildren.org

Free Screenings

SBIRT

CRAFFT

Mental Health and Suicide Screenings

PYD joins Partnership to End Addiction

Positive Youth Development is now a proud member of the nationwide Partnership to End Addiction and the Community Partners Network (CPN). Through the Partnership, families have access to resources that help prevent and treat addiction for their children and loved ones. They also work to improve the addiction treatment system and end the addiction crisis. For more on the Partnership to End Addiction, please click here or on the logo below.

Community Partners

Our partners in prevention include 12 sectors from local law enforcement, school districts, mental health agencies, parents, community volunteer groups.