3 days ago
Meet the Johnson County organization reducing alcohol consumption and preventing addiction
Mariah Temple's past struggles with substance misuse fuel her passion to educate and inform Johnson County residents.
Temple and the team at Iowa City's Community & Family Resources are part of an effort funded by local and state grants addressing and preventing a variety of addictive behaviors, from binge drinking alcohol to marijuana misuse, opioid abuse and problem gambling.
"I'm not like, 'This is just my job,'" Temple said. "I'm passionate about it because I don't want these people to fall into the things that I went through."
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The organization teaches courses and distributes fliers and educational pamphlets, which even highlight the Community & Family Resources treatment facility.
The treatment facility is a "sister" company to the GuideLink Center, which provides space for individuals struggling with substance abuse or mental health care.
State sets reduction, prevention goals for organization
Temple is orchestrating campaigns aimed at adults 45 and older who drink to help curtail binge drinking.
The state sets broad goals for its state-wide partnership, known as Partnerships for Success to Prevent Alcohol Misuse. Thee Iowa Department of Health and Human Services hopes to decrease binge-drinking by five percent state-wide and in Johnson County by February 2027.
Community & Family Resources is partnering with the Iowa City Senior Center through the Wellness Initiative for Senior Education (WISE) program.
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Staff visits the Senior Center and emphasizes the positives to help address the factors that often lead to increased alochol consumption. These factors may include the loss of loved ones or a spouse and retirement.
Similarly, Community & Family Resources has conducted beverage training at several downtown Iowa City bars and restaurants to help lower the annual average consumption among adults 45 and older by half a gallon.
The national average is about 2.83 gallons per person each year, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. That equals just over 600 standard drinks each year. The local average is about three gallons per year.
Community & Family Resources also targets women 45 and older, hoping to reduce their consumption by half a gallon as well. That campaign, titled "Savor Every Moment," focuses on the effects of alcohol.
A focus — and a challenge — in rural areas
A lot of Temple's work is done outside of the Iowa City metro area, where it is equally difficult to break through. She said resources are far more scarce for rural residents who feel like they have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol.
Temple is conducting surveys of rural residents to gauge concerns with drinking and how accessible alcohol is within their communities.
Temple said respondents feel that many local events are "alcohol-focused or purely alcohol-centric." The organization's "Prevent Alcohol Misuse" program analyzes local events and provides recommendations about alcohol vendor training, mocktails and non-alcoholic activities.
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Temple has set up in-person outreach at rural churches, community centers and libraries, where she has seen the greatest success.
"If you're part of a rural community, usually you know one another or your kids do sports together so you're all together on the weekends and word spreads," Temple said. "But it's just so hard for us to get into those communities."
Learning from her battle with substance misuse
Temple is open about her journey to sober living.
"I can connect my own personal recovery and my own recovery program to my daily work," Temple said. "That helps me keep myself more accountable, too."
Community & Family Resources also provides frequent training programs centered around opioids and other addictive behaviors. Employers, organizations and interested individuals can be trained about opioid overdoses and Narcan use, trauma-informed care and stigma reduction.
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Temple said she stayed in the "cycle of addiction" because of fears about talking to loved ones, concerns about bills and failing to notice the number of resources available to her. She said societal stigma about substance abuse and misuse also played a role.
"I think that if more people had the resources about what they're going through themselves, and their families and employers did as well, it lowers the stigma," Temple said. "Like, 'Hey, this is normal, and a lot of people actually do go through this.' In the end, nobody cares if you went through it alone."
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@ or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: How a Johnson County org. is working to educate, prevent addiction
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