Interview with Wayne Frith of SAFE

In a period of only 18 months, the Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE) was able to reduce the rate of inhalant abuse in one Virginia community by 44%. Recently, ACE had the opportunity to interview the organization's executive director, Wayne Frith, to learn more about their successful efforts.


1. As the executive director of the Substance Abuse Free Environment (SAFE), what do you see as the major problem with inhalant abuse?

The central problem that our community faces regarding inhalant abuse centers on education and information. About two and a half years ago, we completed a community youth survey (the first since 1993) and discovered that past 30 day use of inhalants among eighth graders was double the national average for that group.


We immediately began investigating the “but why here?” question. We discovered that virtually no one had a working knowledge of inhalant abuse in our community of over 300,000 citizens. Even professionals in the substance abuse arena had very little knowledge that the problem existed here. Even though youths seemed to have knowledge of the problem, adults, both professionals and parents, were fairly clueless.


2. Why do you feel that more parents should know and educate themselves about the dangers of inhalants?

We decided to attack the problem of inhalant abuse in our community (twice the national rate), by making adults aware. In a period of 18 months, the reported incidence of inhalant abuse among 8th graders (the age at which the problem was greatest for us) dropped by 44%.

Simply letting parents and school personnel become aware allowed them to more appropriately monitor the situation. In follow up evaluations, we have learned that a majority of school staff and parents who have received the training have actually talked to children about the dangers. We found that most adults had never read the labels on products that contain inhalants.


3. How are you and SAFE working to solve that problem?

The mission of SAFE states that we will engage the community in preventing substance abuse. In the case of inhalant abuse, we turned to our community partners and received complete and enthusiastic support.

· We offered education on inhalant abuse to the community and communities across the state by bringing in Isabel Burk, a well known national expert. Approximately 100 professionals turned out to learn more about this problem that, as it turns out, is prevalent throughout Virginia.
· Members of SAFE became certified to train others.
· SAFE subsequently trained
o public health staff (all public health staff in Chesterfield County which means about 150 public health professionals)
o school guidance counselors, social workers, psychologists
o teachers, school administrators, bus drivers
o food service personnel, custodians
o elected officials, first responders (police and fire)
o parents
o and anyone else who would sit still long enough.
· With the support of state agency partners, we were able to launch a state wide coalition, Virginia Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition which held its first annual conference in the spring of 2008 in Staunton, Virginia. The attendance exceeded the registration and approximately 100 persons turned out to learn about strategies to combat inhalant abuse in their communities.
· Top national leaders in the field of inhalant abuse prevention turned out to participate in an “Inhalant Summit” on the evening prior to the conference. The audience included leaders from around Virginia and a member of the State Board of Education.
· We have advertised extensively in print media to get the message to parents and the community at large
· SAFE is honored to have presented to the annual meeting of all directors of public health in Virginia
· We participated in multiple television and radio interviews on the topic. The radio interviews included an hour long program on a Spanish speaking station
· SAFE has developed teams of trainers to go into local public schools (we have 64 schools with nearly 60,000 students in Chesterfield County) and into other localities that have requested training
· The Parent Teacher Student Association of Virginia invited us to address their annual conference
· The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) invited SAFE to present a workshop at their national conference in 2007
· CADCA also included SAFE in their national television production of “Household Highs” on inhalant abuse.
· SAFE has developed a PowerPoint and packet of materials to standardize the training being offered to school staff
· We have offered training to juvenile probation officers, private treatment providers, nurses and civic organizations
· Two members of SAFE, Sharyl Adams and Mary Lib Morgan, contracted with the Virginia Department of Education to edit and re-write a manual on inhalants that included educational materials for adult and grade specific lesson plans for kindergarten through grade 12. This manual was distributed to all school divisions in Virginia. It is available to communities across the United States and is currently being translated into other languages.
· SAFE has met with the Director of Drug Control of India to discuss strategies to reducing inhalant abuse in that nation
· SAFE introduced in Virginia an interactive website for parents to learn about inhalants and how to talk to their children about the dangers of inhalant abuse. It is available at http://www.chesterfieldsafe.org/
· We have worked with a private provider, National Counseling Group, to develop better interview protocols for use by substance abuse counselors in detecting inhalant abuse early.


4. How do you view the issue of inhalant abuse in Virginia as opposed to nationally? Can you say anything about the similarities and differences between forces working to stop inhalant abuse in Virginia and other states across the nation?

In a statewide survey conducted by the Virginia Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services in 2005, data indicated a rate of inhalant abuse much higher in Virginia than the national average (twice the national average for past 30 day use by 8th graders).

A statewide coalition came into existence in the spring of 2007 to work to prevent inhalant abuse. Many communities across Virginia and several state agencies have joined forces to make resources available to anyone who wishes to engage their communities in the effort.

I know that other states and organizations, such as ACE, have been working on this issue for some time. We are anxious to learn more from others as we continue to raise awareness and to advocate for change regarding inhalant abuse. I am very impressed with the policy and legislative initiatives in Maryland.


5. What are some SAFE upcoming events and programs that we should be looking forward to?

• Right now, we work to finish a training product that we hope to have ready for distribution by March of 2009.
• The second annual Virginia Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition will take place in March of 2009 in historic Williamsburg, Virginia.
• We hope to finish training all school personnel in all of our local middle and elementary schools by the end of this year.
• Finally, SAFE will receive a “Got Outcomes! Coalition of Excellence” award on February 12, 2009 at CADCA’s National Leadership Forum.

Humbled by this high honor, we look forward to acknowledging all those who helped us so much to mount a successful campaign to reduce inhalant abuse. I especially want to thank ACE for all the guidance, counsel, resources and funding that helped make a big difference in Virginia.