Problem
Introduction
Today’s youth face different many risks, including drug abuse and violence. Drug abuse causes addiction, which is a disease that affects the brain and behavior. Drug addiction involves illegal drugs and alcohol, and other prescriptions. Different individuals choose to take a drug because they like the way it makes you feel. Sometimes people think they are able to control how they use it, but over time the drug manages to change how your brain works and may cause long-term effects. The individual abusing drugs may make you lose self-control and drastically change the person’s behavior. Drug abuse has become a major problem in communities. The most significant issue that is of concern is the high risk of developing an addiction because of the serious ramification on the person’s health, either mentally or physically. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), approximately 27 million individuals in America, approximately 10% of the population over individuals above the age of 12, are reported using illicit drugs (DuPont, Han, Shea, & Madras, 2018). Therefore, drug and alcohol abuse has become a significant problem in the community among youths aged 13 to 25. The abuse has led to different social impacts, including crime deaths and the loss of ethics and morals among individuals.
Problem statement
Research has shown that the causes of drug abuse among youths are increasing steadily across the world. As it is known, drug abuse can cause individuals to indulge in bad things and can harm themselves or the people surrounding them. The problem is associated with the consumption of substances that can alter an individual’s mind and change the way they think or behave, which is considered a great problem in health, especially if the individuals involved are of age between 13 and 25 hence considered as youths.
The problem of drug abuse among the youth has led to an increase in violence and crime in the communities because the people addicted to a drug are not stable in their life. This means they do not have a place to work so as to earn a living. To satisfy their needs to use the drug and get the basic needs, they end up engaging in violent activities such as robbery. Therefore, there is a need to find a solution to the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among the youths in our communities. By helping the addicts to quit drug abuse is the best way for them to have a good future and have the ability to grow individually and become better individuals who are productive in society. Furthermore, it will help reduce the issue of crime and violence in the community.
Significance
The drug and alcohol abuse problem among the youths of age 13 to 25 has to be solved since it has grown to be a major issue affecting the community and the youths. Furthermore, the abuse of drugs has been related to a different spectrum of negative behaviors and health problems, including dependency, chronic health issues, and death. Also, the increase in violence and crime is significantly important to the problem because it is one of the issues that arise due to the problem itself (DuPont, Han, Shea, & Madras, 2018). Due to these factors, there is a need to find a better solution to actualize and solve the problem. When the problem has been solved, it will be a relief for the communities and also for the individuals affected by the problem since they would become people of virtue and importance to the community.
Solution
Plan
In order to effectively implement the proposed solution, problem-solving techniques are used following different steps. First, defining the problem where will be able to differentiate the facts from opinions and understand its cause. The second step is to generate existing solutions and alternative proposed solutions that could be available. The solutions should be in accordance with the problem. The third step is to evaluate and select the best alternative. The evaluation of the solutions should take place without bias by establishing the goals of the solutions. The solution provided should be supported by an audience that can engage in solving the problem that exists. Lastly is implementation and follow up on the solution. At this stage, it is essential to collect feedback from all parties, prepare monitoring measures, and evaluating the results of the final solution.
Prior solutions
The different solutions have been proposed and implemented over time concerning the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among the youths. One of the solutions that have been provided is therapy (Pozveh & Saleh, 2020). Therapy has been proposed and used in different instances to help addicts overcome the problem over time. However, therapy takes time before a person could get better. In other cases, it has been reported to take years for an addict of either drug or alcohol to get better (DuPont, Han, Shea, & Madras, 2018). Another solution that has been set to help prevent and curb the problem is detox medication. Detox medication has been set to help drug users to quit drug abuse through different methods of detoxification. According to research, detoxification has been said to help drug addicts quit drug abuse at a higher rate (Peterson, et al., 2019). Despite the solution provided, the problem still exists, and there is a need for different strategies to be applied to help solve and reduce the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among youths.
Proposed solution
There have been numerous solutions that could be applied to solve the problem. One solution is to help the individual with drug and alcohol abuse problems keep a well-balanced life (Pozveh, & Saleh, 2020). According to research, most of the individuals who have engaged in the abuse of drugs and alcohol their lives are messy. Most of them do not have jobs or a place to live, so they stay in shelters for homeless people. For them to get food is always a hustle. Therefore, they have not figured out their life because they have already ruined it since they became addicts (Peterson, et al., 2019). Therefore, they must start engaging in activities that would help them put their lives back together. These activities may include environmental clubs or drama clubs, and even self-help groups in the community. Also, parents could get involved in helping to solve the problem by starting to educate their children at a young age about the consequences of drug and alcohol abuse (Peterson, et al., 2019). Applying these solutions will be efficient since it will have a positive influence on the children’s behavior since they will be able to understand the effects of drugs and at the same time learn to create boundaries hence avoiding peer pressure, which may lead to drug and alcohol abuse.
Audience
For the proposed change to work efficiently, there is a need to involve the audience who can help bring about the change. The audience that will assist has different motives that are of concern to the problem. The audience involved is the Addiction Policy Forum (APF), which will be responsible for helping sponsor youths in development programs that may assist in preventing drug and alcohol abuse. The other audience involved in the Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA), where this organization would help push forward and put in place policies that would help prevent and solve the problem of drug and alcohol abuse.
Addiction Policy Forum (APF)
The organization is a nationwide Non-Profit organization that was developed by families who were impacted by addiction. This organization aims to help end stigma and help the patients and families who are in crisis. Furthermore, the vision of the organization is to eliminate addiction as a major health problem. Be able to help patients and communities that have been affected by addiction.
This organization’s motivation is embedded in its vision, which is to help eradicate the problem of addiction in the community and it is concerned with the family and patients that have been affected. Therefore, it forms a good audience to be approached to enable funding of the project of the proposed solution to help reduce drug and alcohol abuse among the use (McCollm, & Trepper, 2014). The organization could help by developing extra facilities in a community where the youths affected could have an opportunity to explore their talents and keep their mind busy. One best way is to fund the development of a theater hall or help rent one to showcase the talent and train the youth to become more independent.
Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA)
This organization is responsible for emphasizing the power of community coalition to prevent substance misuse through collaborative community efforts. The organization has representatives in every state of the country and also a coalition with over 5000 communities, including schools, law enforcement, parents, and the youth. The audience’s motivation is that they believe that the prevention of substance use and misuse before it starts is the most effective method to help solve the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among youths. The organization can help solve the problem because it can provide resources and material that are specifically used to help individuals with addiction problems (McCollm, & Trepper, 2014). Parents may benefit from the organization to understand different ways they could teach their children about the consequences of drug abuse. Furthermore, the organization has a coalition within law enforcement and the government. Therefore, they could assist in presenting policies that would help solve the problem (McCollm & Trepper, 2014). For example, policies that include hefty fines and longer jail time for individuals in possession of illegal drugs either using or selling. Doing this will help reduce and prevent the problem of drug and alcohol abuse in the communities among young people.
Feasibility of solution
Description
This project is a proposal on a proper solution to solve the problem of drug and alcohol abuse among the youths age 13 to 25, which has led to the increase of violence and crime rate in the community.
Possible solutions
This problem could be solved by the implementation of helping the individuals involved in drug and alcohol abuse keep a well-balanced life. This could be done by engaging Addiction Policy Forum (APF) to help fund projects which will ensure the patients are engaging in constructive activities like arts and music, among others. Secondly, it involves parents and the community in helping children understand the effects of abuse of drugs and learn how to set boundaries among peers (Kuai, 2017). Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America (CADCA) will be engaged in this solution because they can provide additional help to solve the problem by providing relevant materials to the parents and training their children at a young age. Furthermore, the organization has a coalition in law enforcement; it could help impose policies that will help solve the problem. One policy suggestion is to ensure hefty fines on individuals indulging in illegal drug businesses, either using or selling.
Evaluation
The proposed solution is more efficient as compared to the prior solutions which exist. These proposed solutions are backed up by an audience who have the capability to make things work efficiently because of the influence, power, and financial status (Kuai, 2017). The organizations will be useful in implementing the solutions, which seems that it will impact the individuals who are abusing drugs. Such that when addicts are engaging in different activities, their minds are kept out of drugs hence becoming productive, and through time it would help them become better because they have control (Gustafson, et al., 2011). Furthermore, by starting training the kids at an early stage, they will grow up knowing that abuse of drugs is not good, and therefore, they will be protected from the influence. Therefore, these solutions are the best since they are efficient, cost-effective, and practical, meaning they could be applied in real-life situations.
Conclusion
The project proposal aims to develop solutions to an existing social problem, which is drug and alcohol abuse among the youth age 13 to 25. After analysis and looking into the problem, the most feasible solutions that have been chosen and could help solve the problem is to help engage the individuals in different activities that would help balance their life and also, use the help of parents and community to train the children from the young age the effects and consequences of drug and alcohol abuse.