Southington Police Official Heading Up Local Substance Abuse Prevention Group

SOUTHINGTON, CT — The town's main substance abuse prevention group has a new leader for this year and the goals are big.

STEPS stands for "Southington's Town-wide Effort to Promote Success" and its new board president for the 2022-23 year is Southington Police Department Deputy Chief William Palmieri.

STEPS' goal to work to eliminate as much as possible underage drinking, tobacco, marijuana and prescription drug use among Southington's young people.

It does so by working with school and community groups to implement strategies toward that end through various programs and information tools.

For example, STEPS — according to its Facebook page Tuesday — conducted a training session with SPD members on STEPS' prevention curriculum.

This month, Palmieri issued a welcome letter to Southington youths and community members both describing his excitement and asking for support for STEPS initiatives.

"While there is a great deal to celebrate from the past l5 years of work with STEPS, we fully tealize that now more than ever our youth need assistance and support," wrote Palmieri.

"I am looking forward to working with all of our community partners and supporters to continue our work in making prevention and asset building a priority in the Southington community."

Palmieri specifically mentioned what is called in substance abuse prevention circles as the "40 Developmental Assets" strategy of prevention.

He said, basically, the more assets a young person has, the less likely he or she will turn to substance abuse to cope with life.

Those assets, according to the Search Institute — a Minnesota-based national youth research organization — follow eight categories: support, empowerment, boundaries and expectations; constructive use of time; commitment to learning; positive values; positive identity; and social competencies.

Palmieri said he wants Southington to become an "asset building community" for his term leading STEPS' board.

"By educating the Southington community on the 40 Development Assets, we will increase our capacity to expose, support, and further develop asset building among our youth," wrote Palmieri.

For the STEPS Facebook page, click on this link.

For more information on STEPS, including how to get involved, click on this link.

For the Search Institute's '40 Developmental Assets,' click on this link.