What have we learned in our prevention efforts?

School and College Organization for Prevention Educators (SCOPE) has continued its series of Thought Pieces with the question What have we learned to date in our prevention efforts that practitioners should know about?  Beth DeRicco noted how the field has learned  that prevention is a process, not a simple set of activities. Brett Sokolow recognized the value of centralized coordinated prevention efforts and Jane Stapleton highlighted the importance of understanding the target audience.

Theare are all important lessons. What I have learned from prevention efforts is that the solution needs to be nested within the community.  We cannot rely solely on increasing individual knowledge, but need to unleash our creativity to make community-wide change.  Yesterday I heard representatives of the Start Strong Teen Dating Violence Prevention Initiative share how they used online strategies to enhance the reach and impact of their prevention efforts.  This is an excellent example of focusing on community wide engagement in order to change the paradigm of how this issue is seen.

What lessons have you learned about prevention?