Who We Are
We acknowledge that our coalition is currently led by a staff of exclusively white, able-bodied, middle to upper income, cis women. As such, we possess biases rooted in systems of oppression ranging from racism and classism to ableism and adultism; and while we are able to recognize some of these prejudices, we realize we are unaware of others. By centering equity and anti-oppressive approaches in our prevention work, we aim to dismantle our own implicit biases, and more broadly, reconfigure power structures.
SPIFFY Committees, Task Forces, and Workgroups
Joining a committee or a community task force is a great way for parents, youth, and community professionals to get involved in developing SPIFFY’s prevention activities. Listed below are descriptions of SPIFFY’s current active groups. To learn more about a group or get involved with any group listed below, please see the contacts listed below each description. You can also check in with our calendar to see when future meetings are going to be held.
SPIFFY Steering Committees
SPIFFY has two steering committees: the Youth Steering Committee and the Adult Steering Committee. The Steering Committees serve as governing bodies for the coalition and are responsible for overseeing the management of the coalition, and providing direction to committees, task forces and paid staff. Decisions are made by consensus when possible. The Youth Steering Committee meetings monthly between October and June. The Adult Steering Committee meets quarterly.
Click here to view our current Steering Committee members. If you would like to learn more about the SPIFFY Steering Committee, please reach out to SPIFFY@collaborative.org.
Regional School Health Task Force
The Regional School Health Task Force is open to anyone interested in school-based initiatives and best practices, prevention curricula, alternatives to suspension and restorative practices, and youth data collection and analysis. We meet every other month to network, and share resources and expertise on a range of topics including: substance misuse prevention, mental health, trauma, healthy relationships, school climate and other emerging issues. The Task Force acts as an advisory group to the SPIFFY bi-annual Prevention Needs Assessment Survey implementation, and provides input about how to best utilize survey results in local school and community planning efforts. If you would like to learn more about the Regional School Health Task Force, please reach out to SPIFFY@collaborative.org.
Regional Policy and Norms Workgroup
The Policy and Norms Workgroup is a regional workgroup co-facilitated by the SPIFFY Coalition in Hampshire County, the Communities That Care Coalition of Franklin County and North Quabbin, and Greenfield 4SC Coalition. The workgroup brings together many sectors of the community to examine policy and norms that impact youth substance use and youth health and health equity. Public health policies and systems that change models at the local, state, and national level are one of the most effective strategies to reduce youth exposure, access, and misuse of nicotine, cannabis, alcohol, and other substances. We see this in legislation that bans flavored vape products which target youth consumers, and in school systems that identify alternatives to suspension for substance use policy violations. We also recognize that it is critical to apply a racial and social justice “lens” to this work and how we communicate with lawmakers, local leaders, and community members including young people.
Click here to access the Regional Policy and Norms Workgroup Minutes. If you would like to learn more about the Regional Policy and Norms Workgroup, please reach out to SPIFFY@collaborative.org.