30 Jordan Lane, Wethersfield, CT 06109 | 860-523-8024 | PreventionWorksCT.org
Our Mission: The Governor’s Prevention Partnership is a statewide nonprofit organization that equips, empowers, and connects organizations, communities, and families, to prevent substance abuse, underage drinking, and violence among youth, and promotes positive outcomes for all young people in Connecticut. Created in 1989, The Partnership is a partnership between government and business leaders.
For more than 30 years, The Governor’s Prevention Partnership has been at the forefront of youth prevention in Connecticut. What started as a focus on the effects of drugs in the workplace has evolved to respond to the emerging threats that face Connecticut’s young people, including vaping, marijuana, chronic absenteeism, alcohol, and bullying.
2020 was a year of growth and transition for The Governor’s Prevention Partnership. We adopted the organization’s first Co-President model and promoted two long-time staff members to these roles. We also welcomed a new Board Co-Chair, Leigh Walton of Pitney Bowes, replacing Jill Hummel of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, who retired at the end of September.
Goals
• Further develop prevention training and service delivery formats that are as effective in a virtual setting as they are in-person.
• Build public-private partnerships and strategic relationships to leverage resources and affect change.
• Increase availability of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training for prevention organizations.
• Build capacity for prevention within communities and organizations across the state, acting as a convener and connector.
One of the honors of being Governor is continuing the tradition of serving as co-chair of The Governor’s Prevention Partnership.
As Governor O’Neill, the founder of our organization, reminded business leaders at the time, no one sector can solve these problems alone; it takes an investment by business and government to make the changes that are needed.
– Governor Ned Lamont
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your organization? How have your organization’s fundraising efforts, giving opportunities and volunteer opportunities changed as a result?
COVID-19 created challenges for us, as it did for many other organizations, and more importantly, for families across Connecticut. The uncertainty, anxiety, and isolation created by the pandemic has made prevention more important than ever. For years, we have been able to offer opportunities with our co-chair, the Governor, so we have had to rethink how to provide networking opportunities virtually. We look forward to our December 2nd event with our Pandemic Response Partners and Governor Lamont that is being held virtually! If you would like more information, please contact Kelly@PreventionWorksCT.org.
How have the services you provide to the community changed in response to the COVID’s impact? Have you developed new and far-reaching services/support?
When COVID hit, we immediately moved our services to virtual platforms, including the creation of Connecticut’s first Virtual Mentoring framework. Virtual Mentoring ensures that mentor-mentee matches can continue during this difficult time. We have collaborated with school-based, community-based, and site-based programs on this framework, with more than 400 mentoring practitioners trained so far. We also expanded the reach of our substance misuse “Connecting For Prevention” trainings by helping legislators train their constituents over Zoom webinars. Overall, we have had more than 2,500 attendees at our trainings since the pandemic began. We also overhauled our website with a robust COVID-19 resources page and an entirely redesigned School Attendance Awareness page that offers COVID-19 specific resources to mentors, parents, and caregivers.
