Covid Response

Tackling Covid-19 through testing and vaccines

Through a partnership with the Public Health Institute of Oklahoma and the OU testing team, DCCP provided COVID and serology testing at schools and organizations throughout the county. In 2022, DCCP was fortunate enough to receive a mini grant from the CDC to address COVID vaccination hesitancy. This grant will allow us to increase the community’s knowledge about vaccinations and coordinate with additional organizations to expand access to vaccines.

Youth Prevention Summit

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” -Benjamin Franklin

DCCP hosted its first youth opioid prevention summit in the fall of 2018. Created to address opiate overdose deaths, the summit provided education about the dangers of prescription pain killers to middle and high school students throughout the county. The coalition hosted film writer and producer James Wahlberg in both 2018 and 2019. James is the Executive Producer for the Mark Wahlberg Foundation and is one of the Wahlberg siblings. Using the medium of film, James travels with his films to speak to parents, educators, students, and others about his own experience with addiction and ways we can come together to make a dent in this epidemic. In 2018, James shared his film ‘If Only,’ and followed up in 2019 with a new film, ‘The Circle of Addiction.’ The summit was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID outbreak. DCCP coalition members made the decision to broaden the summit for 2022 and future years to include additional prevention topics. The 2022 Youth Prevention Summit will include positive mental health and suicide prevention, dating violence prevention, and substance abuse prevention.

Overdose Prevention Efforts

Narcan information and training

Through a partnership with ROCMND Youth Services and Cherokee Nation, DCCP was able to provide Narcan training and free Narcan kits to members of law enforcement, first responders, and community members. Additionally, DCCP was able to equip law enforcement agencies with enough kits for each car to have two, and first responders were also provided with multiple Narcan kits. Other overdose prevention efforts included providing locking medication storage boxes, Deterra disposable medication pouches, and hosting drug take back events in order to provide community members with a safe option to properly store and dispose of medication. The onset of COVID 19 caused a temporary setback; however, coalition members brainstormed and found a solution through drive-through training and dispersal options.

Annual Cooks Training

Providing training requirements for our county school cooks

The Delaware County School Cooks’ training provides a special opportunity for all Delaware county school cooks to partake in a day designed especially for them. It allows them to meet their annual, required training requirements at no cost in a fun atmosphere, all while receiving gifts, free lunch, and more! This training originated in 2015 with a 3-year Cherokee Nation grant and continued annually thereafter through DCCP’s amazing partners and community members. The coalition made the decision to postpone the event the past two years because of COVID, but we are excited about providing our 6th annual School Cooks’ training in July, 2022.

Caregiver Baskets

Self care packages for caregivers for those with disabilities

Through a collaboration with Sooner SUCCESS and other community partners, focus on inclusion and opportunities for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers have successfully been expanded in our communities. In 2020, DCCP was awarded a Sooner SUCCESS Caregiver Grant and blessed 20 family caregivers and their loved one with disabilities care packages to promote self-care and appreciation for their love and dedication as a full time caregiver. With a continued partnership and guidance from Sooner SUCCES, DCCP plans to sponsor additional projects for individuals with special needs.

Partnering with our Schools

Sponsors and mini grants for our school systems

DCCP has some amazing partnerships with the local school systems and works to serve our youth through those partnerships. Some of our services include sponsoring prevention themed poster and essay contests and providing prizes for the winners. In fall 2020, we began providing teacher mini-grants to help area teachers encourage positive mental health within the school setting. Our first mini-grant focused on bullying prevention and was funded through our Stand Up, Don’t Stand Down virtual walk, run, and cycle to end bullying fundraiser. We provided $5000 in grants to local schools to support projects that addressed bullying. In 2021, we decided to allow more flexibility in the topics we would fund, allowing teachers to choose any topic that encouraged positive mental health. We were excited for the ability to increase our funding and provide over $7000 in mini grants. Our coalition is currently working on plans for the school year of 2022. This has become a popular service and one we plan to continue. We are also encouraging our local school systems to implement positive mental health curriculum and will assist with helping fund the purchase of the curriculum. We have encouraged educators read the book, Hope Rising, and were excited to provide the Grove Counselor’s Team with enough books to conduct a book study, a service that is also available to other schools. The curriculum and book study are offered until funding for this project is no longer available.