"The Real Inside Story" (TRIS)
Choice & Consequence sends registered nurses to classrooms. Students put on gloves and compare the difference between healthy human organs and those damaged by substance abuse. TRIS uses the organs, humor, interactive activities, storytelling, and take home materials to educate youth and families about the impact of substance abuse.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Colleen
Last Name
Williams
Website URL
Country
United States
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
Choice & Consequence
Organization Website
Organization Phone
360-422-5704
Organization Address
33454 West Shore Drive, Mount Vernon, WA 98274
Organization Country
United States
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Your idea
Name Your Project
"The Real Inside Story" (TRIS)
Country your work focuses on
United States
Describe Your Idea
Choice & Consequence sends registered nurses to classrooms. Students put on gloves and compare the difference between healthy human organs and those damaged by substance abuse. TRIS uses the organs, humor, interactive activities, storytelling, and take home materials to educate youth and families about the impact of substance abuse.
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
Registered nurses travel to classrooms with real human organs. We allow students to put on gloves and touch and feel the difference between healthy organs and those damaged from alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) use and other behaviors.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
No
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
TRIS has the most significant impact on students’ planned behavior by preventing students from wanting to engage in using harmful substances (ATOD). The most significant impact comes from students pledging in their personal letters to make healthier lifestyle choices and stay away from ATOD. One in 5 stated they would not use ATOD as a direct result of seeing TRIS. In the student post-program questionnaires, of the 706 students, over half were compelled to tell others and educate their peers about the dangers of ATOD use as a direct result of seeing TRIS. Of the 115 students (or 16%) that currently use tobacco, over 30% said they would quit using as a direct result of seeing TRIS. TRIS has prevented four youth suicides in the past three years, that we know of.
Problem
From early adolescence through their mid-twenties, a teen’s brain develops somewhat unevenly, from back to front. The parts of the brain which develop first are those which control physical coordination, emotion, and motivation, in the back of the brain. So, the parts of the brain which controls reasoning and impulses develop last, and do not fully mature until the age of 25. Because of the complex and huge changes happening in the teen brain, it’s possible that a decision a teen makes now may affect him/her for life. For one example, brain scans have linked alcohol abuse with decreased memory functioning. Because the part of the teen’s brain that’s responsible for making complex judgments develops last, the emotional and motivational regions may take over, resulting in poor judgment and poor impulse control. Immature brain tissue = easy addiction. Making teens aware of these facts and allowing them to see and feel the damage may help them stop and think before they take chances with alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Actions
Scheduling schools, writing for grants, registerd as a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, marketing the program, registration on GuideStar for soliciting donations through FaceBook Causes, set up the web site with a donate button through PayPal, partnered with educational service districts and the prevention/intervention specialists in schools, and partnered with Tulalip Tribal Tobacco Prevention program.
Results
We have $20,000 in grants for Snohomish County schools during the 2009/10 school year, enabling us to prvode TRIS for free to sixteen schools and over 6,000 youth. The partnership with the Tulalip Tribe yielded another $10,000 specifically for schools serving tribal population, and adults in the tribe through the elders, Boys & Girls Club, and tribal health events. We have begun to receive individual donations from the web site and FaceBook. Scheduling will begin in earnest when teachers are back in the classroom next week in Washington. We spoke to over 28,000 youth in WA at an average cost of $5.93 per student in 2008/09.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
2009/10- Revenue of $144,000 (Year 1 of evaluation)
2010/11- Revenue of $166,000 (Year 2 of evaluation)
2011/12- Revenue of $250,000 (Year 3 of evaluation, expect to hire another full-time nurse this year)
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Lack of funding is the bottom line and always an issue for a nonprofit organization.
If the longitudinal evaluation of TRIS effectiveness does not show a positive effect, we will need to reevaluate and make the necessary changes to improve the teaching methods.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$1000 - 4000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
In what country?
United States
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
If yes, provide organization name.
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
We could not meet our mission without partnerships we have formed with Parent Teacher Associations, Tribes, YMCA, hospitals, local businesses and service organizations, teachers, professional organizations, prevention/intervention specialists, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Students Against Destructive Decisions, school nurses and counselors, National Night Out Against Crime, Girls to Grandmothers, and Get Movin youth events. Our collaborations are crucial. Without the support we get from the community, we would not exist, nor would we have access to students in classrooms.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
(1) Longitudinal Evaluation, (2) development of a training module for nurses in other states, and (3)partnerships with organ donation organizations across the country
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
I was working as the Health Promotion Coordinator for Naval Station Everett in 2000 and was participating in the Healthy Youth Day event at the base. I left my educational area and approached a table covered with human organs, put on the gloves and felt the difference between healthy and damaged organs. I had been pondering how to reach children, BEFORE they got admitted to the psychiatric unit, for several years. Seeing and feeling those organs was my defining moment. I hired the "organ lady" to bring the program to the young sailors at the base and on the ships. I was diagnosed with lung disease in 2002. A former smoker, I quit my job at the base, and co-founded the Choice & Consequence organization to take Kathy's program statewide and beyond. The hospital donated their organ program to CC at the end of 2003. The program was being threatened by budget cuts and Kathy and I have since taken the program to over 325,000 students in Washington, Oregon, and Montana.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
In the 1960's Dr. Batara, a local Washington doctor, began taking examples of healthy lungs and smokers lungs to middle schools in the area. He did not tell kids what to do, just let them see and feel the difference. Kathy Ketchum was in the audience and had been smoking out behind the school in Lake Stevens. She quit smoking, became a nurse and started the organ program in 1989 at Providence Everett Medical Center. She took the pathology department's organs to schools on her days off. After several years, the popularity of the program grew enough so the hospital began to pay Kathy do do TRIS in schools as part of her job.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
 | 139 weeks agoAlison Malmon said: Stories and tangibles are the absolute most powerful way to get sensitive information and teaching across. This seems to be an ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 142 weeks agoColleen Williams updated this Competition Entry. |
| 142 weeks agoColleen Williams submitted this idea. |
