On Monday, January 30, 2023, SAMHSA held its 19th Prevention Day and BEST was in attendance. The event was held in conjunction with CADCA National Leadership Forum and took place in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The event included a sensational presentation from the Acting Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, CAPT Jennifer Fan, Pharm.D., J.D. This was followed by breakout sessions that included topics like youth engagement, preventing suicide and substance misuse among LGBTQ+ youth, harm reduction and youth-led prevention efforts for smoking and vaping. The event ended with a talk from the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Miriam E. Delphin-Rittmon, PhD.

There were a plethora of takeaways from the event that will be beneficial to the prevention work that is being done in Bristol. We look forward to putting it into action.