PrevenTable: A PreventEd Podcast

It’s that time of year again…tis the season for Teen Institute! Today we are joined by Ali Stambaugh and Grace DeClue, Prevention Educators and leaders of TI 2024. They share plans for this year, explain what participants can expect, and highlight the transformative power of the camp.

Melody Quinn, Director of St. Louis CRUSH Coalition and Detective for the St. Louis County Police Department, talks resource access and distribution for those misusing cannabis and other drugs. She breaks down what cannabis legalization really means in the Missouri Constitution, details the Bosnian Opioid Project, and describes her changing approach to cannabis through its different stages of legality.

When we say Greenhouse Communication Initiative Founder Stacey Bernaugh is a really good speaker, we mean it. After finding his place in speech and debate in college, Stacey realized the critical importance of educational experiences that prepare students for the professional world. He shares with Nichole his passion for education, discusses opportunities provided by The GCI, Inc., and even touches on code switching and the loaded meaning behind some of the language used to describe a person’s speech.

How do substance use counselors evaluate an adult who uses cannabis to sleep at night versus a person on probation from the justice system with cannabis use disorder? The lines have become even blurrier after cannabis was legalized in Missouri, but our Director of Behavioral Health Jaidan Adams is here to explain the assessment and referral process. Jaidan emphasizes the importance of creating a comfortable environment for clients and her focus on harm reduction and promoting safer use, providing valuable insights into the evolving needs of those PreventEd serves.

Trigger warning: Suicide

Talking about suicide can be difficult, but for John Gaal and Tim Rowden, it is always worth it—one life may be the whole world to many. John, director of worker wellness for the Missouri Works Initiative returns to the PrevenTable once again, this time joined by Tim, editor of the Labor Tribune and founder of the Grief Projects. As loss survivors, John and Tim often guide people through the process of losing someone who died by suicide. They explain the importance of being direct when asking someone about their risk of suicide and touch on what’s missing from current mental healthcare.

Trigger Warning: Suicide

This week, we’re joined by Katie Ellison and Shanna Sorg from the Missouri Institute for Mental Health for a Suicide Awareness Month episode. Katie and Shanna explain the Safer Homes Collaborative, an initiative to reduce access to lethal means of suicide in homes with a specific focus on firearms. And no, they’re not trying to take your guns—with 9/10 suicide attempts using a firearm resulting in death, the duo aims to spread awareness about keeping guns unloaded, locked, and away from ammunition. Plus, they share the importance of person-first language in conversations about suicide and mental health.

Katie Bixler, Director of Community Outreach Events at Faith Oakville, takes a seat at the PrevenTable to talk about the third annual Stomp Out Addiction walk coming up on October 13th. Katie discusses her background in nonprofit development and points to the welcoming environment of the walk, designed to create connection and stimulate community involvement and awareness of substance use disorder.

This week on the PrevenTable, we’re talking with the Executive Director of one of St. Louis’s most well-known nonprofits: Kristin Wild from Operation Food Search! Kristin details the story of how OFS’s founder tracked down Roger Dierberg to offer help distributing his grocery store’s leftover food and got its start as a hunger relief organization. She also explains the importance of food insecurity awareness and highlights the need to reduce stigma toward people in need.

Addie Bond, Sherwood Forest Executive Director, sits down to discuss her organization’s mission to break the cycle of poverty for kids through a balance of camp activities and evidence-based programs. As a youth-development agency anchored in a summer camp, Sherwood Forest immerses kids in nature to create separation between their school lives and camp lives. And it works—100% of leadership training graduates go on to graduate from high school! Participants learn how to try new things and fail successfully, building resiliency skills that support their growth in all aspects of life.

Designing a campaign about a nuanced topic like cannabis isn’t simple. But Sam Agusti-Nuernberger, Strategy Director at Magnetize Agency, thrives on purpose-driven marketing. This week on the PrevenTable, Sam takes us through several processes Magnetize conducted to create our In the Weeds Campaign, including discovery, surveying, and messaging. She also reveals the answer to one our our most popular questions: why purple instead of green?

Trigger warning: This episode contains content about sexual assault, abuse, and suicide.

AJ Pickens, Executive Director at Community of Hope, shares her inspiring story of growing up as an unhoused teen mom who transformed her trauma into a full-scale organization that helps remove barriers for young mothers in St. Louis. She describes how her most painful experiences are what tied her to her greater purpose, what motivates her to build self-worth in girls, and the supportive community partnerships that make her work possible.

PreventEd Director of Education Kelly Wieser joins Nichole at the PrevenTable for a nuanced conversation on talking about cannabis with kids. She explains the importance of laying the foundation for future discussions of substance misuse, the success of consistent reinforcement, and how programs can be the difference for adolescents with a family history of substance use disorder.