Webinar: Mobilizing the Hispano/Latino faith community in substance abuse prevention
This presentation will provide a clear understanding of the disproportionate impact substance abuse has on the Hispano/Latino populations. The role the faith community has to play is an integral part of a successful prevention program in a community. In our work with the community, we find that spirituality/religion is a significant protective factor in addressing substance abuse.
Learning objectives:
- Spirituality is an important protective factor against substance abuse and an important support for persons in recovery.
- Religious people are less likely than others to use drugs and less likely to experience negative drug related consequences.
- Clergy are the first professionals many people with serious personal problems, like substance abuse, contact for help. Clergy could more fully use the resources they have—sermons, members who are helping professionals like social workers and nurses, and their buildings—to educate members of their congregations and communities about substance abuse, and to support individuals and families experiencing substance-related problems.
Presenter: Harry Montoya, MA, is internationally recognized as an authority on substance abuse prevention. He has traveled with the US State Department and the US Department of Commerce in an official diplomatic capacity to Argentina and Mexico. He has also consulted across the United States with state and local governments, community groups and private nonprofits, and is published in textbooks and multiple peer-reviewed academic journals. He’s served on the national board of the Arlington, VA-based Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the National Drug Prevention League.
