What we do

Headway provides various services to promote a healthier community.

Strategies

These strategies are prevention efforts aimed at changing or influencing community conditions, standards, institutions, structures, systems, and policies that shape behavior.

In the prevention world, strategies fall into 7 different categories:

Provide Support

Create opportunities to support people to participate in activities that reduce risk or enhance protection.

Enhance Skills

Organize workshops, seminars, or activities designed to increase the skills of participants, members, and staff.

Enhance Access/Reduce Barriers

Improve systems/processes to increase the ease, ability, and opportunity to utilize those systems and services in prevention initiatives.

Reduce Access/Enhance Barriers

Improve systems/processes to decrease the ease, ability, and opportunity for youth to access substances

Change Consequences

Increase or decrease the probability of a behavior by altering the consequences for performing that behavior.

Change Physical Design

Change the physical design of the environment to reduce risk or enhance protection.

Modify/Change Policies

Produce formal change in written procedures, by-laws, proclamations, rules, or laws. (We are not here, yet – but making strides.)

Tactics

Vendor Education

Each year, we work with alcohol and tobacco vendors to properly train them on safe sale of their products.

MIP Party Patrol

Underage drinking can be dangerous. We make sure the youth of Newaygo stay safe by keeping an eye out for unsafe party activities.

Compliance Checks

We regularly inspect alcohol and tobacco vendors to see if they are checking IDs.

TIPS Training

We help train bartenders and servers on how to safely make and serve alcoholic beverages.

Medication Disposal

Unused prescription drugs are often abused. To reduce this, we’ve established eight prescription drop-off centers, as well as drug take-back days.

Teen Leadership Groups

Twice a year, selected groups of student leaders are brought together to learn about the dangers of drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, leadership, and more from local community leaders.

Community Knowledge Base

We maintain and update local substance abuse data and make it available to all.

Substance Abuse Training

We work with local businesses, organizations, churches, and more to educate them on the truth about substance abuse and what can be done to prevent it.

Talk Sooner

Headway is a proud supporter of the Talk Sooner campaign, which helps parents communicate with their kids about tough issues. Learn more here.

Tell us your story

Have you or a loved one overcome a struggle with alcohol, tobacco, or prescription drugs? We want to know! Your story can inspire others to make a positive change in their lives. Your information can stay as private as you’d like. Contact us to share your story anonymously.