Substance Use Prevention Coalition new year updates
[January 09, 2026]
The Substance Use Prevention Coalition (SUPC) met for its first meeting
of 2026 at Lincoln Memorial Hospital on Thursday, January 8. The mission
of the SUPC is to promote awareness of substance use disorder, prevent
youth substance use, and improve access to resources.
The SUPC is going through the steps of coalition capacity building. The
current goal is to get more information about what is going on in the
community and the schools and to potentially get people to join the
coalition. At last month’s meeting members reviewed lists of Logan
County educators to determine possible contacts for key interviews. This
month they assigned members to contact local educators for brief surveys
to get to know what is happening in schools in order to better provide
prevention resources.
Crimestoppers will be hosting a free family bowling event on a Sunday in
mid-March from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Logan Lanes. Crimestoppers hosts this
winter event every other year with a free meal provided by local police
and with community information tables.
A new 2026 law in Illinois requires that all EMTs and health care
workers must input overdoses in the statewide OD map. The law previously
applied only to Chicago. Only certain public entities may have access to
the state map. Maps will indicate the race, age, sex, and possibly the
drug used, as well as the neighborhood in which it happened.
Recovery in Action is hosting a free Valentine’s Day dance on February
14 at Hope on Fifth from 6-9 p.m. The dance will include refreshments.
SUPC members are excited about the possibility of Tall Cop coming to
Lincoln in 2027 with support of multiple community entities. A popular
presenter and internet presence, Tall Cop can assess communities and
provide targeted training and resources for youth substance use
prevention.
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The Logan, Mason, and Menard Deflection program launches February 28
from 12:30 p.m.- 4 p.m. with speakers and trainings at the Lincoln
Park District. The goal of the deflection program is to divert
people from going into the justice system. The program addresses
substance use, homelessness, mental health, and related issues by
connecting individuals to resources prior to being arrested. Plans
are to hire three people to provide peer to peer counseling and
advocacy through this program.
The Logan County Health Department distributed 322 boxes of naloxone
in 2025. Anonymous testing for sexually-transmitted infections is
available at the Logan County Health Department. People seeking
testing may use an alias when testing, although they must provide an
active phone number. Discussion ensued about Peoria area schools who
host “Test Yourself Days” and if this would work as a community
event in Lincoln. Chlamydia and gonorrhea are circulating in Logan
County and can be tested with a urine sample. The Health Department
also provides free condoms.
The Railer Reach out initiative is hosting focus groups to get
community partner perspectives for creating text messages to send to
Lincoln Community High school students.
Prevention Specialists will be at Lincoln Junior High School on
February 26, as well as other sporting events to promote the parents
alcohol education campaign.
The next SUPC meeting is February 12 at LMH and via Zoom at 9 a.m.
The next Community Health Collaborative will be March 5 at 8:30 a.m.
at LMH.
[Stephanie Hall]
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