SURE - Substance Use Reduction Education

Springboard's SURE program is a first-of-its-kind e-learning tool developed to increase capacity for quality substance abuse interventions with youth, reducing criminal involvement and other harms associated with substance use and abuse.

This e-learning tool is an interactive multimedia product and engaging piece of software that interacts with young persons, adjusting its lessons and contents to suit the needs of individuals. Combining music, practical exercises, video, narration and rich graphics, the tool combines best practices from three fields: e-learning, substance abuse counselling, and adult learning.

The tool delivers psycho-educational skill based training designed to empower youth and young adults to deal with the challenges of conquering dependencies on alcohol or drugs, irrespective of the users' substance-of-choice.

The tool is modular in design, offering many brief sessions, each focused on a small number of skills or challenges. Delivery of new information is balanced with practical instruction and action assignments or other homework. The “feel” of the material is engaging, without moralization or a lecturing tone, and pilot testing will be used to ensure appropriate content, language, pace and tone.

The tool is built as a "stand alone" product, meaning that it will be compatible with individual and group treatment programs of all types (blended e-learning), or can be used as a sole intervention.

It is in no way intended to replace human intervention or group interaction, but as a tool that will enable frontline staff at Springboard and partnering agencies to:

• Offer more one-on-one attention to users in areas deemed most important
• Direct youth in need of individual skill development toward customized training
• Attend to greater numbers of young people with substance abuse problems simultaneously
• Offer supplementary online support to those requiring it
• Deliver a standardized program in numerous sites across the province, including remote rural communities with limited resources.

Enhancing Springboard's existing programs, this tool is now being piloted in various locations in Toronto, St. Catharines and Sault Ste. Marie. These enhanced programs will provide an effective and innovative alternative to charging or sentencing youth, and/or may be included as a component of client program activities based on assessed individual needs. After initial pilot testing, the program will be expanded to partnering organizations to assess its effectiveness in a variety of settings and diverse methods of implementation. Once finalized, this product will be made broadly available to service providers.

Through the support of community partners and service providers throughout Ontario and the nation, Springboard strives to reach "at-risk" youth and provide innovative and engaging tools that help to reduce criminal involvement and other harms associated with substance use and abuse.