Hispanic/Latinx families, especially in the rural south, experience a myriad of ACES and issues with substance abuse or heavy alcohol consumption. According to the Florida Health Charts (2020), in Alachua County alcohol consumption (heavy binge drinking) has increased substantially from 19.9% of Hispanic adults in 2016 to 35.7% of Hispanic adults in 2019. WellFlorida Council and the Rural Women's Health Project will collaborate to create a summer long program through the local Iglesia Hispana. The goal of this proposed project is to educate, uplift and heal Hispanic/Latinx adults and families living in Alachua, FL who have experienced one or more substance-related ACEs. There will be two parts to the program: free group therapy sessions facilitated by certified counselors and a six-session bilingual educational series focused on substance issues in the Latinx community. As mentioned, this program will focus on the interpersonal, intrapersonal, and community level of McLeroy's Social Ecological Model (1988). The group therapy sessions will be centered in lived experiences, healing and building community while also hoping to build coping skills for participants, increase their content knowledge and give them tools for navigating difficult substance-related family dynamics. An important trauma informed principle for the group therapy sessions is safety, since counselors must create a safe, affirming, healing space for participants (Huang, 2014). Because families may be entering the program with past trauma and history of ACES, this program serves secondary prevention to reduce the impact that substance abuse and alcohol consumption has on family members. Much of the education portion will also be aimed at early diagnosis and recognizing the signs of harmful substance behaviors and drug or alcohol addiction. This program may bring up some generational and personal trauma for program participants, yet we plan to provide peer support from community and religious leaders, our Latinx staff and the certified counselors who can further refer people if more help is needed.
References:
FLHealthCharts.gov. (2020). Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Data: Alcohol Consumption County
Report. Florida Department of Health, Division of Public Health Statistics and Performance Management. Accessed on April 18, 2022 at
https://www.flhealthcharts.gov/Charts/
Huang, L. N., Flatow, R., Biggs, T., Afayee, S., Smith, K., Clark, T., & Blake, M. (2014).
SAMHSA's Concept of Truama and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (1988). An ecological perspective on health promotion programs. Health education quarterly, 15(4), 351-377.
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