Norwich youth mental health and substance use problems improving. Here's where things stand
While the pandemic was tough on young people, there are signs things are improving.
Norwich Prevention Coordinator Hannah Ornburn gave Norwich City Council a presentation on the state of the organization. This included data that shows the substance use and mental health picture of Norwich youth improving.
The 2021-2022 data saw a pandemic related spike in substance use, but 2023 saw a reduction in all abused substances. The presentation highlighted alcohol, vapes, and marijuana, Ornburn said.
Among students' lifetime use, alcohol use dropped from over 20% to just above 15%, vape use from almost 15% to about 10%, and marijuana usage also dropped to about 9%. Recent use also decreased; alcohol from 6% to a little over 4%, vapes from over 6% to 4%, and marijuana from about 8% to 4%.
Prevention attitudes have also increased. Perceived harm from vapes increased from just under 40% to over 40%, perceived harm from alcohol increased from a little over 30% to almost 40%, and perceived harm from marijuana increased from 20% to over 25%.
Perceived parental negativity toward substance use also increased. The data shows that perceived parental negativity toward substance use has gone close to 80% across the board, Ornburn said.
Ease of perceived substance access also decreased. Despite legalization, perceived ease of access to marijuana has gone down, and the Prevention Council wants to figure out why that is.
Youth mental health issues
Data related to youth mental health is improving, but Ornburn said “the numbers are (still) too high.” Students who felt sadness for two weeks or more decreased from 30% to under 25%; students who had thoughts of self-harm decreased from over 25% to under 25%, and students who’ve harmed themselves decreased from over 15% to 15%, and students who’ve made a suicide plan decreased from just under 15% to around 10%.
The 2021-2022 data included students from grades 7-12, while the 2023 data added sixth grade. The change had only a minimal impact on the data, Ornburn said.
Norwich Prevention Council
The Norwich Prevention Council was created with the goals of reducing and preventing youth drug use, and increasing collaboration for that purpose. The council is active with its own endeavors, reaching 5,082 in person, and receiving 359,194 online views and interactions, mainly though Google Ads and Tik Tok, Ornburn said.
“The power of social medial is real, and I’m not just saying that as a young person,” she said.
Programs include interventions for students using drugs, safe social activities, and drug education programs starting in elementary school. For example, the Sunny Side Up! Kids program has served 275 students in Mahan and Moriarty Elementary Schools. It highlights talking about emotions, making healthy decisions, identifying substances, and knowing how to say no.
The response has been positive so far, and there are plans to continue the program next school year. Talking to elementary school students about drugs is key, since starting the conversation in middle school could be too late.
The Norwich Prevention Council is seeking more funding, including a re-application for the Drug Free Communities Grant, to keep doing its work, Ornburn said.
At the end of the presentation, the Norwich City Council and residents attending applauded Ornburn’s work. The Prevention Council should continue more partnerships with Norwich Police and Norwich Public Schools, Norwich City Councilmember Swaranjit Singh said.
"I think it's very important for our kids to know that it's cool to say no to drugs," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Prevention Council announces progress on youth substance use
