Prevention First is a nonprofit resource center based in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

, committed to building and supporting healthy, drug-free communities through public education,

professional training Professional development is learning to earn or maintain professional credentials such as academic degrees to formal coursework, attending conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. It has been described as intensive ...

and effective tools for those working to prevent drug use and related issues such as

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

, teen pregnancy and academic failure. As the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

alliance partner for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Prevention First has won several national awards for its efforts to educate and inform parents, teens and others about how to prevent youth drug use. Prevention First is the only resource center of its kind in

. Its services include a Student Assistance Center that provides training and support services to schools, particularly in relation to Student Assistance Programs designed to identify those at risk of school failure and intervene to help them succeed. Its

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

branch office A branch office is an outlet of a company or, more generally, an organization that – unlike a subsidiary – does not constitute a separate legal entity, while being physically separated from the organization's main office. Branching is particu ...

houses an extensive prevention-focused specialized

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

, while a free Clearinghouse in Springfield distributes nearly 1 million brochures, posters and other materials to schools,

youth groups The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. 0 ...

community organization Community organization or Community Based Organization refers to organization aimed at making desired improvements to a community's social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organization occurs in geographically, psychosocially, ...

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...

agencies and others each year.

References

Underage Drinking by Karel Ares

Prevention First
* {{webarchive , url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060609005817/http://il.drugfree.org/ , title=Illinois Drug Free , date=2006-06-09
Press Release Army National Guard
Drug culture Non-profit organizations based in Illinois