Aspen Family Connections will receive $625,000 over five years as part of the White House’s Drug-Free Communities Support Program to prevent youth substance use in the upper Roaring Fork Valley.
The funding comes from the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which announced $94 million in grants on Sept. 4 to more than 750 community coalitions working to curb youth substance use across the country.
This federal grant will go to hiring a program director for the new Aspen-Pitkin Healthy Futures Coalition, which Aspen Family Connections officially launched in January.
They’ll work with representatives from a dozen different community sectors to develop solutions to drug abuse among Aspen students.
According to data from the 2021 Healthy Kids Colorado Survey, students in the Aspen School District reported using alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco products at significantly higher rates than state averages
Katherine Sand, the director of Aspen Family Connections, told Aspen Public Radio in a phone call that this trend among students is tied to mental health issues.
“It's obviously not definitively provable,” Sand said. “But if kids who use marijuana are more prone to also report serious mental health, there is sort of an implication that they may be doing as much for self-medication as, you know, fun. … It's not as simple as saying, ‘Kids in Aspen, they’re partying all the time.’”
At Aspen High School, 17.8% of students said they used substances to cope with or overcome negative or difficult feelings in 2021, compared to just 11.4% statewide.
Data from 2023 showed improvements, but Hispanic, Latinx, and multiracial students in the Aspen School District continue to report higher mental health risk factors compared to their white classmates. They also report attempting suicide at higher rates.
Sand told the Aspen School District Board of Education on Sept. 11 that the schools need to address this disparity in the coming years.
“Young people who are Hispanic, Latinx, or multiracial are having a different experience in our community or in our schools,” Sand said. “It’s just not the same. What they’re seeing and what they’re feeling are not the same.”
Over the past few years, the Aspen School District and its partners have enhanced their mental health support services in an attempt to address these concerns.
“We have to understand more about why they're using different substances and what those connections are because it's a clue to stressors,” Sand said.
Previous coalition success
The Drug-Free Communities Support Program has provided community coalitions with federal funds since 1997, and White House data shows youth substance use “significantly decreases” in these communities.
Between 2002 and 2022, the percentage of high school students in these programs who reported drinking alcohol within the past 30 days went down by 23.1%. About 33% fewer students reported using tobacco products, 11.3% fewer students used marijuana, and 31.6% fewer students used prescription drugs.
But Sand said it’s not a one-size-fits-all road map. Many of the participating coalitions are employing initiatives unique to their communities, responding to the local student body’s culture and issues with substances.
“Some of them focus on youth and juvenile justice,” Sand said. “Some of them are focusing on opioids. … I think we're looking at a range of things, including how we can start to address the significant degree to which alcohol is prevalent in Aspen society without also impeding the business model, you might say, of Aspen.”
Sand said Aspen’s coalition might consider how accessible alcohol is to minors in Aspen and how local bars and restaurants can boost enforcement.
While she’s optimistic about the coalition’s potential, Sand acknowledged that these partnerships will not be a “quick fix,” and it will take time to see results.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Aspen, the Aspen Chapel, the Elks Lodge, and Aspen Valley Hospital are among some of the new coalition’s participants. Sand says a youth advisory team will also play a large role.
Sand said the first meeting should take place next month.
