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PREVENTION TOOLS FOR LATINO FAMILIES 1 DURING COVID-19 THE FACTS THE PREVENTION SOLUTION Also, you can visit the following About 55 million U.S. school children Substance abuse prevention starts with websites for more COVID - 19 and attend schools that have been closed or parents learning how to talk with their support information. are being directly affected by the new children about difficult topics. To support coronavirus COVID-19 social distancing children and prevent the use of substance SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress rules2. The isolation, fear, not having abuse at home, parents can:5 Helpline enough support, lack of health access Toll Free: 1-800-985-5990 (español and the pressure that Hispanic and • Talk honestly with your child about e inglés) Latino parents and caregivers are healthy choices and risky behaviors. Text in Spanish: Envíe “Háblanos” al 66746 facing are countless, leaving the • Learn the facts about the harmful effects Text in English: “TalkWithUs” al children with so many questions, of drugs. 66746 confusion and in many cases leaving • Help your child make good choices and (TTY): 1-800-846-8517 them unattended. good friends. English: • Teach your child different ways to say No! http://www.disasterdistress.samhsa. According to the National Survey on • Be clear. Actions speak louder than gov Drug Use and Health (NSDUH)3 words. Spanish: 2 in 5 Hispanic and Latinos Children do notice what their parents say https://www.samhsa.gov/disasterdistress-helpline/espanol struggled with illicit drugs. and do. • Be a role model. Children notice how 7 in 9 struggled with alcohol use SAMHSA’s National Helpline parents use alcohol, tobacco, and drugs at Toll-Free: 1-800-662-HELP 1 in 6 struggled with illicit drugs home, in their social life, and in other (24/7/365 Treatment Referral and Alcohol relationships. Information Service in English and • Don’t drink and drive. Having a Español) Unfortunately, substance abuse designated driver sends a very important Website: continues and even increases, as we message to children about safety and http://www.samhsa.gov/find- face COVID-19. When parents and responsibility. help/national-helpline caregivers use alcohol and drugs to • Lock up alcohol, prescription drugs, manage stress or avoid emotions, National Suicide Prevention illegal/street drugs, and dangerous cleaning children suffer and face many risk Lifeline supplies. factors. According to Current Drug Toll Free: 1-888-628-9454 • Establish consistent routines and rules. Abuse Reviews, 4 these children are English: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) • Encourage positive friends and healthy (TTY): 1-800-799-4TTY (4889) also more likely to experience poor activities. Spanish: performance in school, emotional and • Find time to do things together like eating https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ behavioral problems low self-esteem, a together as a family, it’s a good time to talk help-yourself/en-espanol/ higher risk of physical, verbal, or sexual and learn about what’s going on. English: abuse, a higher risk of developing • Avoid TV programs, movies, and video http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline. anxiety or depression, earlier onset of org games that glamorize tobacco, alcohol, and experimentation with drugs or drugs. Since it’s hard to escape the alcohol, and a greater chance of messages found in music and advertising, SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator becoming addicted once they start discuss with your child the influence these Website: https://findtreatment.gov using drugs or alcohol. messages have on us. To learn about more about our National Hispanic and Latino Prevention Technology Transfer Center, please visit https://pttcnetwork.org/centers/national-hispanic-latino-pttc/home 1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html 2 National Center for Education Statistics; https://nces.ed.gov/ 3 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Hispanics, Latino or Spanish Origin or Descent (https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2018-nsduh-hispanics-latino-or-spanish-origin-or-desce) 4 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3676900/ 5 https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/substance-abuse/Pages/Drug-Abuse-Prevention- Starts-with-Parents.aspx