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Environmental Alcohol Prevention/Community Empowerment Project (EAP/CEP) |
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Written by Roulan Eivazzadeh
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Aug 12, 2008 at 07:58 PM |
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Environmental Alcohol Prevention/Community Empowerment Project (EAP/CEP)
Since 1991, Pueblo Y Salud, Inc. has implemented a variety of projects all of which fall in line with its mission of increasing and creating opportunities for self-empowerment. These include alcohol and tobacco environmental prevention projects that focus on reducing alcohol and tobacco related problems experienced by a community rather than an individual. These projects assess alcohol or tobacco related problems experienced by a community rather than an individual. These projects assess alcohol or tobacco related problems through research and surveys, inform and educate community leaders and residents about the problems, then organize and mobilize community folk to address the issues impacting them by enacting policies which reduce alcohol and tobacco availability.
The environmental prevention concept/modality, which Pueblo Y Salud pioneered in the Los Angeles Basin, is relatively new. It has been implemented in Los Angeles since 1985 and moves away from the psychological or medical model which historically focused on the individual.
The environmental prevention model views alcohol and tobacco related problems as environmental justice issues encompassing much more than just alcoholism or other maladies impacting upon individuals. Alcohol and tobacco related problems include driving under the influence, auto accidents, property damage and deaths, child and spousal abuse, crime including assaults and battery, cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and so much more. The model views the environment as a network of systems, legal, political, social, etc. which need to be assessed in terms of how they each contribute to behaviors and attitudes which worsen or promote unhealthy lifestyles. Once assessed, it is up to the community to work with these systems in making change, usually the enactment of internal policies |
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