Listen First is a UNODC initiative to support science-based drug use prevention.
This feature on ISSUP's support for Listen First was published in the September 2021 edition of the Listen First Newsletter (Number 8) and is reproduced here to further raise awareness of this important prevention initiative.
UNODC continues to partner with colleagues around the globe to strengthen collective efforts against the adverse consequences of drug use. Amongst them, the International Society of Substance Use Professionals (ISSUP) supports 'Listen First,' using webinars and social media to raise awareness of the value of evidence-based family skills in preventing substance use and other adverse social outcomes. "By linking ISSUP members to 'Listen First', we not only reinforce the importance of prevention but provide evidence-based and accessible materials," explains ISSUP Executive Director Joanna Travis-Roberts. "Our members find the 'Listen First' materials practical and helpful, and we can share it in the knowledge that it is evidence-based and effective."
ISSUP was founded in 2015 with a mission to build a well-trained professional workforce that delivers high-quality drug prevention, treatment, and recovery support services worldwide. The association has over 20,000 members in 190 countries and territories throughout the world. This helps ISSUP reach a global audience of health workers, teachers, prevention workers, and policymakers, raising awareness of 'Listen First' and how parenting skills can help create a healthy future for children and youth. Changing how science and evidence are communicated to and used by the workforce is central to ISSUP's mission. Since its inception, ISSUP has championed the use of digital technologies to transform how substance use professionals connect, communicate, and collaborate. Its website has dedicated areas for networking and knowledge sharing, enabling users to upload and disseminate information. Here, users can access 'Listen First' videos, fact sheets, and an archive of valuable materials relating to prevention, parenting skills, and health promotion in children and youth.
To meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, ISSUP delivered a substantial program of online events involving international partners and guest speakers. This included collaborating with UNODC to deliver sessions on family-based interventions in low resource settings and family skills for the prevention of substance use to its global audience. ISSUP also hopes to resume its global workshops in Abu Dhabi (UAE) in May 2022, where the latest learning from the fields of substance use prevention, treatment, and recovery support will be shared, including the ‘Listen First’ materials.
For more information visit the Listen First website.