ASAP unveils a new initiative

By Andy East for The Republic

The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress (ASAP) has unveiled a new initiative aiming to advocate for wellness as a preventive measure against substance misuse, especially among vulnerable adults.

The initiative, called Rethinking Wellness, seeks to raise awareness and educate people about the importance of reassessing their current practices, including alcohol consumption among older adults, and help them adopt sustainable habits that support overall well-being, ASAP said.

It also includes providing aging adult populations — people ages 50 and up — with education on nutrition, exercise, mental health and overall well-being using nationally recognized curriculums and programs from the Wellness Initiative for Senior Education and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

ASAP officials said that advocating for wellness as a preventive measure against substance misuse will help address the root causes of unhealthy behaviors.

The initiative is partly funded by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction.

Launched in 2017, ASAP is a community-wide response to address substance use disorder, including the opioid crisis, in Bartholomew County. From 2015 to 2022, 192 people in Bartholomew County died from drug overdoses, including a record 39 deaths last year, according to figures from the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office.

“Our commitment to better health starts with action,” ASAP said in a press release. “We are thrilled to introduce our Rethinking Wellness initiative, designed to help individuals make better choices to avoid developing dangerous health conditions and diseases related to substance misuse.”

ASAP officials said the new initiative is driven by “compelling data” that shows that the rates of unintentional drug-related deaths, excessive drinking, depression diagnoses and the number of opioid prescriptions per 1,000 people are higher in Bartholomew County than in much of the rest of Indiana and, in some cases, the nation.

The initiative will consist of workshops, public messages and community events “to create an informed community and supportive environment,” ASAP said. This involves educating adults, their caregivers, families and collaborating with event organizers to reduce alcohol and prescription illicit drug availability and misuse.

“These issues affect all adults in Bartholomew County, including those aged 50 and older,” ASAP said. “As a community, we can impact these issues through education and increased awareness of the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption, prescription misuse and illicit substance use.”