Prevention Alliance of Loudoun
Overview
The Prevention Alliance of Loudoun (PAL) provides mental health, wellness, and substance misuse information, resources, and support to parents and educators. PAL also hosts a variety of events and workshops throughout the year.
Explore our offerings below.
Parenting Workshops: "Talk. They Hear You." Parents Night Out
Join us for an interactive, educational session to discuss the realities of underage drinking, other drug use, and how to talk with your kids about these issues. Dinner and childcare will be provided. Two sessions available:
- Thursday, May 18, 2023 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Rust Library, 380 Old Waterford Road NW, Leesburg, VA 20176
Register here. - Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.
Sterling Community Center, 120 Enterprise Street, Sterling, VA 20164
*English & Spanish available.
Register here for English session | Register here for Spanish session
Summer Wellness Fest
Come out to meet a variety of health and wellness vendors. The event will feature music, food trucks, games, and arts and crafts.
- Saturday, August 5, 2023, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- Sterling Community Center, 120 Enterprise Street, Sterling, VA 20164
- Free and open to everyone and all ages
- More details coming soon!
Recovery Fest
Come out to celebrate and discover the gift of recovery at this event featuring a wide variety of community resources. Enjoy entertainment, food & beverages, raffle prizes and fellowship.
- More details coming soon!
PAL Youth Group
The PAL Youth group hosts events throughout the school year.
Suicide Prevention
- Find mental health treatment and resources - in Loudoun County - to help prevent suicide.
- Explore Lock and Talk Virginia to find information and strategies regarding how to recognize and respond to the warning signs of suicide, join community conversations about mental wellness, and restrict access to firearms and poisons during a mental health crisis to help prevent suicide.
- Request a trigger lock or cable lock for firearms or lock boxes for medications - send an email
Opioid Abuse Prevention
- Learn the basics of opioids. Opioids: What You Need to Know - English (PDF) | Spanish (PDF)
- Take REVIVE: Opioid Overdose Reversal Training to learn the signs of opioid overdose and how to respond to an opioid overdose emergency.
- Explore Know the RxSK Use with Caution to find information and strategies regarding the safe use, storage, and disposal of medications to prevent and reduce the misuse of prescription pain medications.
- Request a free lock box for medications and drug deactivation bags - send an email
Marijuana Use Prevention
- Explore Unfazed to learn the risks of using marijuana as a teen.
Substance Use Prevention
- Explore Talk. They Hear You to learn about the dangers of drinking alcohol and other drugs at a young age.
Our Mission
The mission of PAL is to create a drug-free community. We aim to:
- Achieve sustainable population-level reductions in substance abuse rates.
- Implement communitywide strategies to change problem environments.
- Develop prevention programs focused on serving individuals or groups of individuals.
Who We Are
PAL is a coalition of youth, Loudoun County agencies, faith-based organizations, and other community stakeholders and parents dedicated to mental health awareness and substance misuse prevention efforts.
PAL was formalized in 2017 and is made up of stakeholders relevant to the Loudoun County Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Services' Prevention and Intervention Needs Assessment mandated by Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). This informal coalition was formalized to help provide momentum to the Strategic Planning surrounding mental health promotion and substance misuse prevention in Loudoun County.
PAL is a member of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). CADCA defines coalitions as a formal arrangement for collaboration among groups or sectors of a community, in which each group retains its identity, but all agree to work together toward the common goal of a safe, healthy, and drug-free community. PAL includes members from several sectors: youth, parents, business, media, schools, youth serving organizations, law enforcement, civic/volunteer organizations, religious/fraternal organizations, healthcare professionals, state/local/tribal government, and substance abuse organizations.
The Strategic Prevention Framework
PAL utilizes the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) developed by SAMHSA which details how coalitions can create strategies tailored to each communities’ characteristics. The SPF process assists our coalition in developing the infrastructure needed for community-based, public health approaches that can lead to effective and sustainable reductions in alcohol, tobacco and other drug misuse and abuse. PAL utilizes environmental strategies recognizing that risks associated with substance use are, in part, a function of the interplay between the environments where youth use and the substances he/she uses. In the environmental approach, place matters.
PAL receives funding via the DBHDS and the Loudoun County Community Services Board from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.