Lehi City announces that its Police Department has created the community coalition Lehi Cares to focus on preventative methods for its youth. The department has selected the Communities That Care (CTC) framework to guide the coalition in identifying proven solutions that meet the specific needs of Lehi’s youth.
“This is a great opportunity”, stated Lehi City Mayor Mark Johnson. ”Lehi City has made it an extensive effort to give our kids and parents tools to help them succeed in life.”
Communities That Care is a risk-focused approach to reducing adolescent drug use and violence through community mobilization and planning. The hope is that through the process, the community will have a paradigm shift from reaction to prevention, targeting risk factors rather than just the problem behavior itself. The resources and activities developed by the Coalition will, over time, benefit the whole community with:
- Less drug use
- Lower suicide rates
- Less criminal activity
- Improved mental health
- Fewer teen pregnancies
- More students graduating on time
The Police Department hosted community leader meetings in December 2022 and January 2023 to introduce the coalition to the community. Guests included government officials, business owners, educators, law enforcement, health care providers, and parent organizations. A call to action was made to support and get in front of the problems that our youth face today.
“CTC is not a program, it’s a process,” stated Blair Brooke-Weiss MSPH with University of Washington Center for CTC. “It’s a way to bring all the stakeholders in the community together to make joint decisions based on their own data about what’s going to be important for the youth in their community.”
The Lehi Cares Coalition is still inviting local citizens and community leaders to get involved in the coalition. Visit the Lehi Cares Coalition page for more information.
