Education Programs
Partners in Prevention educates members of Hudson County on topics pertaining to the overall health of the community. Our prevention educational programs touch the lives of individuals on all levels.
Pam Presinal
Education Director
PPresinal@pipnj.org
Estrella Borrego
Assistant Education Supervisor
EBorrego@pipnj.org
Dana Jaloudi
Assistant Education Supervisor
DJaloudi@pipnj.org
Exau Ferruzola
Prevention Educator
EFerruzola@pipnj.org
Erick Gonzalez
Prevention Educator
EGonzalez@pipnj.org
Natasha Santana
Prevention Educator
NSantana@pipnj.org
Aranxa Zapata
Prevention Educator
AZapata@pipnj.org
About PIP Education Programs
The Partners in Prevention Education teams are proud to offer a range of evidence-based programs and custom workshops that have proven effectiveness in promoting healthier decision-making and well-being. Our portfolio includes acclaimed programs such as Prime for Life, Life Skills, WNBI, WISE, Strengthening Families, and more!
Each program is thoughtfully designed to cater to specific age groups, communities, or classrooms, ensuring that individuals are equipped with the necessary tools to make informed choices regarding substance use, mental health, life decisions, and overall safety. We are committed to empowering individuals and communities to lead healthier, more fulfilling lives through these comprehensive and impactful programs.
Contact Us
Our Classes and Programs
Youth Classes
We Are Not Buying It 2.0 (WNBI), is a substance abuse prevention program that focuses on developing media literacy skills for students in sixth to eighth grade. WNBI uses researched and evaluated prevention education strategies to reduce early use of alcohol, marijuana, prescription and over-the-counter medications. WNBI 2.0 is a recent addition to our agency. Identifying that media consumption by youth has shifted dramatically helped Partners in Prevention in the decision to acquire this new program. The program incorporates popular music, television, movies and social media such as YouTube and Facebook to raise awareness of messages about substance abuse that often go unnoticed by our youth.
Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST) is a research-validated substance abuse prevention program proven to reduce the risks of alcohol, tobacco, drug abuse, and violence by targeting the major social and psychological factors that promote the initiation of substance use and other risky behaviors. This comprehensive and exciting program provides adolescents and young teens with the confidence and skills necessary to successfully handle challenging situations.
Botvin LifeSkills Training is designed for:
- Elementary school students
- Middle/junior high school students
- High school students
Developed by Dr. Gilbert J. Botvin, a leading prevention expert, Botvin LifeSkills Training is backed by over 30 scientific studies and is recognized as a Model or Exemplary program by an array of governmental agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Rather than merely teaching information about the dangers of drug abuse, Botvin Lifeskills Training promotes healthy alternatives to risky behavior through activities designed to:
- Teach students the necessary skills to resist social (peer) pressures to smoke, drink, and use drugs
- Help students to develop greater self-esteem and self-confidence
- Enable students to effectively cope with anxiety
- Increase their knowledge of the immediate consequences of substance abuse
- Enhance cognitive and behavioral competency to reduce and prevent a variety of health risk behaviors
Family & Senior Programs
The Strengthening Families Program is an evidence-based prevention program for parents and children in higher risk families. SFP consists of parenting skills, children’s life skills, and family skills training courses taught together in 2-hours group sessions preceded by a meal that includes informal family practice time and group leader coaching. SFP is available in a 7-week and 14-week format (one session per week) for parents with children ages 3-5, 6-11 and 12-16.
The parenting sessions review appropriate developmental expectations and encourages:
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- Positive interaction with children (such as showing enthusiasm and attention for good behavior and letting the child take the lead in play activities)Increasing attention and praise for positive behaviors
- Positive family communication including active listening and reducing criticism and sarcasm
- Family meetings to improve order and organization
- Effective and consistent discipline including consequences and time-outs
The children’s skills training content focuses on:
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- communication skills to improve parents, peers, and teacher relationships
- resilience skills
- problems solving
- peer resistance
- feeling identification
- anger management and coping skills
The family practice sessions allow the parents and children time to practice what they learned in their individual sessions in experiential exercises. This is also a time for the four group leaders to coach and encourage family members for improvements in parent/child interactions.
The WISE Program is a wellness and prevention program targeting older adults, which is designed to help them celebrate healthy aging, make healthy lifestyle choices and avoid substance abuse. It provides valuable educational services to older adults on topics including nutrition and exercise, medication use, stress management, depression and substance abuse.
Created by NJPN and implemented locally by our member agencies, WISE promotes health through education concerning high-risk behaviors in older adults. Since the program was launched in 1996, prevention programs presented by WISE Volunteers have reached over 40,000 individuals.
The WISE Program was awarded a 2009 National Exemplary Award for Innovative Substance Abuse Prevention Programs, Practices, and Policies by The National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). The award was presented to NJPN at the 2009 National Prevention Network Research Conference in Anaheim, California.
The curriculum has also recently been accepted for review by SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP).
Custom Workshops
Our custom workshops are designed to educate many age groups throughout the community. The topics discussed are centered on the dangers of underage drinking and other drugs. Our most popular program is called Fatal Vision. The Fatal Vision program enables students to experience the effects of alcohol hands on. Fatal Vision® Goggles use special lens technology that allows the wearer to experience a realistic simulation of impairment. Along with the fatal vision goggles we tailor our programs to fit the needs of a particular school or community center. Topics include, but are not limited to, Synthetic Marijuana, Tobacco Cessation, Texting and Driving, Alcohol Misuse and Abuse.
E-cigarettes have become very popular. These devices (also called e-cigs, vape pens, e-hookahs, e-cigars, mechanical mods, and pod systems) are not a safe alternative to cigarette smoking. One in four teens has vaped, and the number of middle and high school students using e-cigarettes further increased to 5.4 million in 2019, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General to call youth vaping an epidemic. Through our vaping workshops, we are helping the community of Hudson County navigate this public health emergency with tools to protect and support schools, students, and parents. Our vaping workshops can accommodate all audiences and settings and can service all age populations. Education is key to preventing tobacco, e-cigarette, and other vaping device use in youth and young adults.
Fatal Vision® Impairment Goggles are an internationally popular evidenced-based prevention tool used to educate people of all ages about the consequences of alcohol misuse and abuse. Fatal Vision® Goggles use special lens technology that allows the wearer to experience a realistic simulation of impairment. Fatal Vision® Goggles simulate six distinct impairment levels and are available in a clear or shaded version to simulate either daytime or nighttime conditions. A popular activity to conduct with Fatal Vision® is to perform Standard Field Sobriety Tests such as walking a straight line heal-to-toe or the one-legged stand. Due to the loss of balance and equilibrium produced by the goggles, the wearer will exhibit behaviors that are similar to that of someone under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.
Fatal Vision® Benefits:
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- Engaging and hands-on
- Promotes a clear prevention and awareness lesson
- Simple to use
- Easily implemented into existing awareness and prevention programs
- Provides an experience that people will remember
Join Our Team!
Do you want to join the Partners in Prevention team? Check here for when we have positions or volunteer opportunities available.