Monroe County - Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services

Snapshot of Monroe County
Monroe County is a county with a population of approximately 11,800. The county
encompasses the communities of Boles, Bugtussle, Centerpoint, Flippin, Forkton,
Fountain Run, Freedom, Gamaliel, Gum Tree, Hestand, Mount Hermon, Mudlick, and
the county seat is Tompkinsville. Monroe County is adjoined by Allen, Barren,
Cumberland, and Metcalfe counties in Kentucky and Clay and Macon counties in
Tennessee. The economy is largely agricultural and the two major employers are the
school system and the Monroe County Medical Center. Belden, a major industry in
Tompkinsville, just announced they are closing their doors. Belden employs about 230
people. The company plans to start phasing out employees during the 3rd quarter of this
year and the plant will be completely closed by the end of 2007. This closing follows
Kentucky Apparel, closing its doors just a few years ago. The school district consists of
five schools: Joe Harrison Carter Elementary, Gamaliel Elementary, Tompkinsville
Elementary, Monroe County Middle School, and Monroe County High School. The
population is predominantly white, with small percentages of African-Americans and
Hispanics. Less that 1% of Monroe County’s population is made up of American
Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, and persons reporting two
or more races.
Demographic & Contextual Variables Likely to be Correlated with Inhalant Use in
Monroe County. Click here to view geomaps.
• Low SES & low school achievement
• Problematic family functioning
• Teen pregnancy
• Youth Disengagement
Meet the Advisory Group
My name is Randy Williams and I am the Safety Director for the Monroe County
Schools as well as a SPF-SIG Advisory Board member. I am very excited and
encouraged that Monroe County has received funding to address the inhalant use among
our youth. We have already made great strides working through the SPF-SIG process
and I feel confident with continued dedication and hard work we will make a difference.

Monroe County is truly blessed to have such a dedicated Coordinator and team members
that really care about our children. The word is now spreading about inhalants and the
dangers of its abuse throughout Monroe County. The Monroe County youth will reap the
benefits of education of inhalant abuse for years and pass it along to there children. I am
really proud of the fact that so many dedicated Monroe Countians can make a difference
in their lives.
Hello, my name is Sandy England and I serve as the Health Coordinator and FRYSC
district contact for the Monroe County School System. Being part of the Inhalant
Alliance has been an eye opening experience for me. I have definitely been educated on
inhalants and how they affect our youth. Working with this group has improved my
ability to work with community partners and to feel more comfortable about calling on
them. I appreciate the opportunity to work with this group and to help educate and
improve the lives of our students.
Since joining the Alliance, I have had the opportunity to collaborate with more
community partners. We have formed relationships within our community to better serve
residents. We are growing in knowledge and ability to work with substance abuse and
Inhalant issues.
The Alliance is providing a training about Inhalants, prevention, and treatment. All of
the clinician staff who work with children and families in our community will be able to
attend this training.

Hello. I'm Ginger Holcomb, Guidance Counselor at Monroe Co. Middle School and one
of Monroe Co.'s Lifeskills Board Members. Being a member of the Inhalant Prevention
Advisory Group has been very enlightening for me. Until I attended our recent Inhalant
Task Force Training, I knew very little about inhalants and how our children are abusing
them. It was a very eye-opening experience that sent cold chills down my spine. We
must do all we can to communicate the dangers of these poisons to our young people.
Hello, my name is Amy Hutchinson and I am the Project Coordinator for the Monroe
County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention. It’s hard to believe that we’ve been up and
running now for almost a year. I am truly honored to work with such a great group of
hard working people who truly care about the well-being of children here in Monroe
County. We’ve accomplished many great things as a team and I am proud to say that I
am part of this project. I look forward to what our future holds!
Professionally, I have been amazed by the level of cooperation that the Monroe County
Alliance Members have demonstrated. I never imagined that we would be able to
organize and accomplish what we have during the past year. After completing the
introductory video, we truly connected as a team of individuals who strongly desire to
reduce inhalant use in Monroe County.
Chandra Carter, CPP
SPF SIG Master Trainer

Welcome to the Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention, my name is Rebecca
Tandy and I am the Director of the Monroe County Health Department. Our community
was fortunate to receive funding to address inhalant prevention activities, especially since
the majority of our adult community members are unaware of the youth inhalant abuse
problem. I personally believe education is instrumental and enjoyed the Inhalant training
organized by our coordinator, Amy Hutchinson and conducted by nationally acclaimed
inhalant trainer, Isabel Burk on January 30, 2007.
My name is Tom Stokes. I am pastor of the First Baptist Church of Tompkinsville. I feel
privileged to serve on the Advisory Board. In the beginning, I had little knowledge on the
scope of the inhalant abuse problem. Nor did I realize how dangerous the abuse really is.
I have learned so much. I am also very pleased with the progress we are making. The
recent Inhalant Task Force training was great and reached a lot of key people in our
county. The upcoming training sessions are shaping up to also reach many people and
spread the word about the problem. We have just begun! The best is yet to come!
Inhalants!!! A problem here???? I am Dyshel Thompson and serve as a health educator
at the Monroe County Health Department, the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation
Specialist and our local KY-ASAP board chair. I have had the honor of working with

many leaders in our county to address issues which pose a threat to our community.
When Monroe County was first approached with the possibility of funding from SPF-
SIG, myself and others worked diligently to form a group of key leaders to go forward
with this project. Many now serve on our Alliance for Inhalant Prevention Advisory
Board. Amy was hired as our project leader and has challenged, entertained, and
educated our board with regular meetings. The SPF-SIG process has truly increased my
knowledge on the strategic prevention framework process and so much more. The
Extreme Makeover video production has brought the most laughs so far and was great
fun. At the beginning, many of us truly didn’t grasp the fact that inhalants are a problem
in Monroe County. Through the wonderful training by Isabel Burke, we are now aware
that inhalants are POISONS that are a threat to all communities. I am so excited to be a
part of the advisory board and to what we have to come.
Hello, my name is Kathy Grace and I’m the Community Education Director at Monroe
County. I’m glad to be a member of the Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention
because I work with youth and adults throughout the whole county. I have been able to
share the knowledge we’ve gained through trainings and meetings with parents and
community members. I look forward to learning more ways to prevent our youth from
using these deadly substances.
Hi,
My name is Mike Turner and I am the Pastor of Milltown Baptist Chapel and the
Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Tompkinsville, KY. Being a member of
the SPF-SIG Advisory Board has been a very educational opportunity for me. It has
provided me with much needed information concerning the inhalant use in Monroe
County. The training I’ve received is very much needed and has provided me with the
knowledge needed to address this problem. I am very excited about working with the
members of our committee. It is providing an opportunity to bring concerned people
together that might not otherwise have the opportunity to work together to rid our
community of this problem.

Vision and Mission Statement
VISION: A County of Informed Residents Keeping Youth Free of Inhalant Use
MISSION: To strengthen Monroe County’s efforts to reduce inhalant use and its
consequences by using the Strategic Prevention Framework
Local & State Community Partners
Community Outreach, Inc.
Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Foothills Academy
Gamaliel Elementary School
Gamaliel Police Department
Joe Harrison Carter Elementary School
Kentucky Department for Juvenile Justice
Kentucky Department for Public Health
Kentucky Department of Education
Kentucky Family Resource and Youth Services Centers
Kentucky Mental Health & Mental Retardation
Kentucky Regional Poison Center
Kentucky State Police
LifeSkills Regional Prevention Center
Milltown Baptist Church
Monroe County ADO Program
Monroe County Area Technology Center
Monroe County Board of Education
Monroe County Community Education
Monroe County Community Resource Center
Monroe County Department of Juvenile Justice
Monroe County Falcon Academy
Monroe County Family Resource and Youth Services Center
Monroe County Health Department
Monroe County High School
Monroe County Interagency Council
Monroe County KY-ASAP
Monroe County LifeSkills Service Center
Monroe County Middle School
Monroe County Ministerial Alliance
New England Inhalant Abuse Prevention Coalition
REACH of Louisville
Scottsville Faith Coalition
Stephens Manufacturing
The Health Network

The Monroe County Citizen
Tompkinsville Elementary School
Tompkinsville First Baptist Church
Tompkinsville Housing Authority
Tompkinsville News
Wal-mart
WKWY 102.7FM
WTKY 1370AM/92.1FM
WVFB 101.5FM
Key Accomplishments
• Developed inhalant awareness flyer. Click here to view flyer
• Hosted Monroe County Alliance Kickoff
• Developed and administered several inhalant survey instruments:
o Parent & Student Preliminary Surveys – administered to 218 students and
18 parents. Click here to view findings
o Parent survey - administered to 366 parents in Monroe Co. Click here to
view survey instrument
o Supplemental Inhalant Questions to the KIP Survey – administered to 510
students. Click here to view survey instrument
• Conducted three focus group sessions with…
o Local home team members Click here to view findings
o Youth leaders Click here to view findings
o Residents at the Tompkinsville Housing Authority Click here to view
findings
• Some or all Alliance members have attended various trainings related to the
Strategic Prevention Framework and/or inhalants including: CADCA’s Strategic
Prevention Framework Training, Master Trainer Workshop on Cultural
Competence and Sustainability, Kentucky School, Alliance Academy, NPN
Conference, Conference for Women on Leadership Development, Inhalant Abuse:
Nursing Implications, SPF SIG Pathways Chapter 1-4 Modules, Inhalant Task
Force Training, etc.
• Held 7 monthly Advisory Group meetings
• Held two inhalant inservice trainings for Monroe County bus drivers and teachers
at the Monroe County Area Technology Center
• Inhalant articles have been published in the Bowling Green Daily News,
Tompkinsville News and the Monroe County Health Department’s quarterly
newsletter, Window of Health. Click here to view an article
• Steps 1 – 5 of our Strategic Plan and budget were approved
• Developed a vision and mission statement
• Administered 2006 KIP Survey
• Developed introductory video entitled, Extreme Makeover: LifeSkills Edition
• Held Recognition Ceremony of SPF SIG Milestones. Click here to view pictures
(Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3)
• Developed a website www.StopInhalantAbuse.org

• Held one-on-one discussions with 9 key leaders to inform them of the SPF SIG
project, educate them on the inhalant prevalence rates in the community and
related consequences, and elicit their concerns and ideas
• Partnered with national inhalant expert, Isabel Burke, to host the first Inhalant
Task Force Training targeting Advisory Group members and key leaders in the
community. Click here to view picture
• Follow-up inhalant prevention, intervention and treatment trainings are scheduled
for March 1 and March 15, 2007. Click here to view training flyer
• Recorded 6 PSAs to be aired during the month of March in addition to articles
that will appear weekly in the local newspapers.
Avenues of Collaboration
The formation of the Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention has opened and
facilitated multiple avenues of collaboration among its members. All Advisory Group
members were involved in the writing of the strategic plan and are now actively carrying
it out in the community. Below are just a few examples of ways in which Advisory
Group members have assisted in the SPF SIG project…
• The Monroe County Health Department:
o
Published inhalant article in their quarterly newsletter Window of Health
Click here to view article
o Worked to set up youth focus group session
o Developed a Community Assessment in collaboration with REACH of
Louisville.
o Received training on inhalants and will be sending employees to be
trained at the upcoming follow-up trainings.
• The Monroe County Board of Education and Family Resource and Youth
Services Centers:
o provides location for inhalant trainings and helps with room setup
o administers KIP and other inhalant surveys to students and parents;
o School nurses implement inhalant prevention strategies and media
campaign activities targeting students and parents
• Monroe County LifeSkills Service Center:
o Received initial inhalant training and will be sending employees to followup
training to learn how to accurately assess inhalant users and apply best
practices in the intervention and treatment of inhalant abuse.
o Recruited law enforcement and jail staff to attend follow-up trainings.
• Monroe County Department of Juvenile Justice:
o Worked diligently to recruit co-workers to attend the follow up inhalant
intervention and treatment trainings. Also recruited all 9 counselors from
the Foothills Academy to attend.
• Monroe County Community Education:
o Worked to set up youth focus group session
o Selected and gained permission for youth to serve as panel members for
our Inhalant Task Force Training

o All migrant program employees will be attending inhalant follow-up
trainings
• Faith-based members:
o Set up focus group session at the Tompkinsville Housing Authority
o Increasing awareness of inhalant problem among church congregations
o Recruited members from the Ministerial Alliance and ADO program to
attend upcoming inhalant trainings
NIPAW
If you think “huffing” is just something the Three Little Pigs had to watch out for,
the wolf may come knocking at your door. Huffing, bagging and sniffing are terms for
inhalant use, a cheap, legal and easy way that young people in Monroe County get high.
Parents are often out of the loop when it comes to inhalants. Children discuss it
and practice it: adults stay in the dark. The week of March 18-24 is National Inhalants &
Poisons Awareness Week (NIPAW), and the Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant
Prevention is kicking off a media campaign designed to educate parents and young
people about this deadly practice.
The goal? To take the “silent” out of this silent epidemic. Most parents know
how to talk to their kids about marijuana, date rape and drinking because they have
enough knowledge about these issues, but inhalants are an informational blind spot.
The numbers are startling. Almost one in every six tenth graders in Monroe
County has intentionally inhaled everyday products during the last 30 days at the risk of
brain damage and even death, reports the 2004 KIP Survey. Over 2 million young people
used inhalants in 2004. Inhalant abuse, most common in the 10-12 age bracket, is also
considered a “gateway drug,” a student’s first form of substance abuse before
“graduating” to other drugs.
Inhalants are as close as the kitchen sink or your child’s classroom. What young
people don’t realize is that using any inhalant is like playing Russian Roulette:
experimenters can die the 1 st , 10 th or even 100 th time they use. Other effects of inhalant
use include brain, respiratory, liver and kidney damage, short-term memory loss and
hearing impairment.
We must educate our children about inhalants before they educate themselves.
We can protect our children by working together. To receive your free kit to learn more
about inhalants, call The Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention at (270) 487-
0622 or log onto www.StopInhalantAbuse.org. You can also contact the National
Inhalant Prevention Coalition at 1-800-269-4237 for information on NIPAW activities or
inhalant abuse.
Sincerely,
Amy Hutchinson,
The Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention

Next Steps/Where Do We Go From Here?
The majority of our efforts during this first year of the grant have been devoted to
increasing awareness of the inhalant problem and building capacity among Advisory
Group and community members to address this issue. In subsequent years, our efforts
will likely include:
• Education for parents, staff and the community
• Screening supplies for safety
• Policy changes to ban non-essential solvent-based products
• Review and revise school curriculum to add or strengthen inhalant abuse
prevention messages (i.e. Virginia Inhalant Curriculum, Project Alert)
• Establish procedures for students who are suspected or known to have used
inhalants (i.e. alcohol and drug assessments, counseling, etc.)
• Modify school ATOD policies to include inhalants specifically
• Continued data collection to further identify the nature and extent of the problem
Contact Information
The Monroe County Alliance for Inhalant Prevention
201 Columbia Avenue
Tompkinsville, KY 42167
Phone/Fax: (270) 487-0622
ahutchi@lifeskills.com
www.StopInhalantAbuse.org