Ep 25: Reducing youth substance use with Nilda Delgado and Ricardo Torres - Hispanic Heritage Month
What are some of the challenges facing youth with respect to substance use? This week, we are joined by Nilda Delgado and Ricardo Torres of the Alianza Coalition who share about their work in reducing substance use among Latino youth. We talk coalitions, reducing access, communications and messaging, and acculturation stress. At the top of the episode, Roger and Drew also each share their top 5 Latin/Spanish language songs of the 80s/90s to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Learn more about this episode and more at www.commongooddata.com/podcast
So that we can play the music of the 80s/90s right in the episode, we are releasing our podcast on Spotify. Get Spotify Premium to listen along with the music mid-episode.
Roger and Drew also share their Top 5 Latin songs to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month - listen to them all here on our Spotify playlist:
Key Takeaways
Health, wellness, and culture go hand in hand. Often, culture is a strength for individuals, families, and communities, providing a source of support and identify that can protect against risks. However, cultural norms can also be favorable to negative health outcomes. The Alianza coalition currently is working to change the cultural narrative that rites-of-passage like a quinceñeras need alcohol and underage drinking to be a “fun” party.
Coalitions - Coalitions are an organization of organizations, and are designed to work across many sectors to tackle a particular social challenge. The Alianza coalition is a drug-free coalition that works across many sectors to help reduce substance use among Latino youth.
Limiting Access - It’s important to think about access as one part of a community prevention strategy. Education and communications campaigns that encourage adults to secure and monitor their alcohol and medications can go a long way to reduce the risk for youth substance use.
Acculturation Stress & Trauma - Acculturation stress and trauma take a toll on the body - and this toll can put youth at risk for substance use and other health risks. Culturally tailored prevention programs that are designed to foster communication between parents and youth and that strengthen youth coping skills can help Latino youth navigate acculturation stress and reduce the risk for substance use.
Resources and Links
Alianza Coalition webpage
Youth Drug Survey - Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Cervantes, R., Goldbach, J., & Santos, S. M. (2011). Familia Adelante: A multi-risk prevention intervention for Latino families. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 32(3), 225-234.
Our Guests
Nilda Delgado is a clinical bilingual social worker originally from NY. Nilda is the Chair of the Alianza Coalition, which works to prevention substance use among Latino youth in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg region. Nilda has worked with the immigration population for over six years and has a deep passion for serving the community and working on the front end to prevent the need for recovery.
Ricardo Torres is the Latino Program Manager at the Center for Prevention Services and member of the Alianza Coalition. Ricardo has worked in the Health and Human Services field for over 21 years. A proud graduate of Central Piedmont Community College and Pfeiffer University, Ricardo has also worked in family homelessness, substance use treatment and prevention, youth/criminal justice, health and mental health, and disabilities in addition to his career in substance use prevention. He has two daughters ages 15 and 12 and a wonderful wife Diana Torres of 21 years.
