Collaboration and Service Improvement:

• Implement recommendations from the 2022 Coalition Capacity Assessment to sustain and improve collaboration within the All Together coalition. 

• Increase access to SUD treatment and recovery support.

• Increasing access to medication assisted treatment programs. 

• Support harm reduction strategies such as Naloxone training and Drug Take Back Days.

Education:

• Disseminate informational material across sectors, promoting awareness of/access to harm reduction resources. 

• Promote and replicate (as needed) Mental Health Resource Guides created by MAHHC and All Together. 

• Increase reach of WeAreWorthwhile self-stigma campaign. 

Advocacy:

• Host Bi-State Legislative Breakfast every two years to engage state policy makers in discussion of local health priorities. 

• Collaborate with All Together partners to reduce stigma associated with substance misuse, addiction and co-occurring disorders. 

• Provide information for community members about changes in substance misuse related policy, such as cannabis legalization. 

Equity:

• Conduct qualitative needs assessments with the support of members of marginalized groups to identify health disparities and opportunities to address them. 

• Increase capacity of grassroots and small organizations representing people with lived experience of health inequities to address the concerns of their communities independently through grantmaking and technical assistance. 

Binge drinking is defined as consuming 5 or more drinks on one occasion for men and 4 or more for women. According to the CDC, 1 in 6 adults binge drink, with 25% doing so at least once a week. Binge drinking can lead to immediate effects like alcohol poisoning, car crashes, and drowning, as well as long-term effects, including cancers of the liver and esophagus. Implementing brief intervention programs, increasing prices and restrictions on buying alcohol, and enforcing laws against drunk driving can reduce the number of binge drinking occurrences.

• Public Health Council (PHC)
• Dartmouth Hitchcock All Together
• The Doorway/ Addiction Treatment Program (ATP)
• Habit OPCO
• Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center (MAHHC)
• Hartford Community Coalition (HCC)
• New Futures
• Upper Valley Community Health Equity Partnership (UVCHEP) Steering Committee

Data Overview: The CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) compiles data about the percentage of adults reporting heavy drinking. They call approximately 400,000 people each year as a representative sample to estimate metrics describing the United States population by county. 

Limitations: Considering the limitations of data modeling and methodology changes in 2016 and 2021 is important before using this metric to track progress. The BRFSS introduced changes in their methodology in both 2016 and 2021. Before 2016, the BRFSS collected data exclusively from landline phones. In 2021, they changed their estimation procedures to create more accurate small-area estimates.