RI PREVCON Virtual Series

The RI Governor’s Council on Behavioral Health’s Prevention Advisory Committee was proud to host its first statewide prevention conference on January 10th, 2019. With in-person conferences on pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RI PREVCON planning committee has put togehter a sequence of webinars in the RI PREVCON Virtual Series. Webinar recordings are below. Links to the 2019 in-person conference materials can be found by entering “RI PREVCON 2019” into the search bar above.

Risk and Resilience: Helping Teens and Families Cope with Mental Health Challenges

Sarah Dinklage & Stacy Perin, May 28, 2020

In the first installment of the PREVCON Virtual Series, Sarah Dinklage of RISAS and Stacy Perin of The Providence Center School & Anchor Learning Academy presented Risk and Resilience: Helping Teens and Families Cope with Mental Health Challenges. In this webinar, participants gained knowledge of the general mental health issues teens and families are facing as they navigate through the dramatic shift in the educational and social environment, increased their knowledge of the impact that distance learning is having on teens with mental health and behavioral disorders and the strategies that are being used to support them, increased their knowledge of the special mental health issues for teens who are living with parents/caregivers with substance use disorder, and learned a general approach for helping teens cope with the stress of having a parent/caregiver with substance use disorder.

View the webinar here.

What Parents Need to Know About Preventing Underage Drinking

Kathy Gardner & Dan Fitzgerald, June 24, 2020

During the second installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series, prevention providers received a customizable presentation designed to help them inform parents about underage drinking and the latest alcohol trends. They gained a better understanding of how to convey information about underage drinking to parents, learned new information about underage drinking trends, learned simple techniques to enhance your presentation, and learned how to integrate technology into an engaging presentation.

View the webinar here.

Caring for our Brains in Unprecedented Times

Charity Bell, July 22, 2020

This is the third installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series.

In this incredible, challenging time, even those who have never experienced anxiety may be aware of racing thoughts, brain and body exhaustion, and reduced effectiveness. For those of us who have experienced anxiety or currently have it, this is an extended visit from a most unwelcome guest.

In this webinar, Charity Bell (presenter) provides tools to understand what is happening in your brain and body, gives you ways to not only understand but also respond to the cues you are receiving from inside yourself, and helps you reframe your perceptions.

View the webinar here.

Shifting Gears: The Blunt Truth about Marijuana & Driving

AAA, August 20, 2020

This is the fourth installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series.

Already, nearly 1 in 4 Americans live in a state that has legalized marijuana for adult recreational use. With the drug now legal in Massachusetts, and legislation to legalize its use pending in several other northeastern states, including Rhode Island, AAA has developed a timely new program for high school students that highlights the effects of marijuana use on the teenage brain, with a particular focus on the dangers of drugged driving. Shifting Gears: The Blunt Truth About Marijuana & Driving is a program presented by AAA staff in either your education classroom or virtually.

View the webinar here.

Impaired and Distracted Driving

Rhode Island State Police, October 22, 2020

The fifth installment in the RI PREVCON Virtual Series is presented by Sgt. Pennington of the Rhode Island State Police. After this webinar, participants better understand the problems of impaired and distracted driving, are familiar with The Ripple Effect Campaign, know how to prevent driving under the influence, and have the tools to make a plan to prevent impaired driving.

View the webinar here.

Adolescent Suicide Prevention and QPR – Question, Persuade, and Refer

Rhode Island Student Assistance Services, January 20, 2021

The sixth installment in the RI PREVCON Virtual Series is presented by Leigh Reposa of Rhode Island Student Assistance Services. This webinar provided participants with the opportunity to learn more about adolescent suicide prevention, with specific focus on the QPR method – Question, Persuade, Refer.

View the slides here.

Racial Equity in the Context of Prevention

Don Mays, February 25, 2021

This is the seventh installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series. During this webinar, Don Mays—artist, educator, and activist/advocate—focuses on racial equity within the context of prevention, addressing the intersection between racism and the War on Drugs/the policing of substance use and its focus on Black and Brown communities. Viewers will learn about the origins of policing and its relation to Black Americans, the tools/strategies used to control communities of color, and the origins, expansion and insidious nature of the War on Drugs. This webinar will also explore ways of addressing the race-based policies and procedures in the policing of communities of color, and address the cries for “Defunding the Police” in reference to substance use.

View the webinar here

Breaking Stigma in the Community

Jon Soske and Steve Gumbley, March 23, 2021

This is the eighth installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series. In the first half of this webinar, Jon Soske explores some of the ways that psychologists, sociologists, and advocates have defined stigma, focusing specifically on the structural aspects of stigma and its intersectional character, particularly with anti-Black racism. Jon then provides a high level overview of current stigma efforts in Rhode Island, with an emphasis on Overdose Prevention Sites and ways by which the prevention community can ally with the recovery community. In the second half of this webinar, Steve Gumbley discusses bias and stereotypes as they relate to people with SUDs and discusses their origins in common misunderstandings about the nature of recovery. The webinar concludes with a discussion of some common strategies that can inform prevention, recovery support, and anti-stigma work.

View the webinar here.

Queer Inclusive Programming: An Ally’s Guide to Prevention

Dan Fitzgerald and Cyndi Rego, April 20, 2021

This is the ninth installment of the RI PREVCON Virtual Series. During this webinar, viewers will join two queer prevention specialists as they discuss the ins-and-outs of community prevention programming with and for the LGBTQ+ community. From an overview of inclusive surveying to understanding the risk and protective factors of this community, viewers will leave with a better understanding of how to serve as an ally to LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as a playbook of what can be done within our communities to address health disparities.

View the webinar here.

Lessons Learned from COVID-19 and Applications for Prevention Work Going Forward

Rhode Island Regional Prevention Coalitions and Rhode Island Student Assistance Services, May 20, 2021

The final installment in the RI PREVCON Virtual Series will provide viewers with an opportunity to reflect on this past year, focusing on what we have learned throughout the pandemic and how we can apply these lessons to prevention work going forward. This webinar is structured a bit differently than previous webinars; rather than having one presenter, a panel of representatives from the Rhode Island Regional Prevention Coalitions and Rhode Island Student Assistance Services discuss some of the challenges and innovative successes of this year. The webinar discussion focuses specifically on the following topics: 1) Transitioning to remote prevention work; 2) Successes and lessons learned throughout the pandemic; and 3) Diversity, equity, and inclusion during the pandemic and going forward. Viewers will have the opportunity to learn more about the incredible prevention work that the RI Regional Prevention Coalitions and Rhode Island Student Assistance Services have been doing throughout this time!

View the webinar here.