The Monroe County Safe Community Coalition along with the Monroe County Human Services
Department are hosting a county wide Substance Use Prevention Day on Wednesday, April 19 th at the
Tomah Fairgrounds.
Sophomore students across the Monroe County School Districts will attend a full day of instruction and
hands-on-learning on a variety of topics relating to substance use, mental health and distracted driving.
Students will listen to speakers talking about Vaping and Tobacco Usage, Mental Health: Anxiety and
Depression and Substance Use – stories of use and recovery. There will be a Safety Belt Simulator from
the WI State patrol showing students how important seat belts are, even at 5mph. Fort McCoy will be
bringing their Driving Impaired Simulator-SIDNE. Students will wear Fatal Vision Goggles while driving an
obstacle course. These goggles give the students the feeling as if they are under the influence of alcohol,
drugs/marijuana. These goggles will also be used to perform other types of tasks. Tomah Police Dept will
set up a mock crash. Tomah and Sparta Ambulance Service will be there talking about Narcan and drug
related injuries. Monroe County Sheriff’s Dept will be there with their K-9 dog.
Students will rotate through these breakout sessions throughout the day ending with a keynote speaker,
Melissa Duoss. Melissa was involved in a distracted driving car accident in high school and will be
sharing her story of the accident and her healing journey.
This event is funded by a grant received from Monroe County Human Services, Monroe County Safe
Community Coalition, and Mayo Clinic Health System. This event wouldn’t be possible without the
volunteers and support from Monroe County Safe Community Coalition, Next Steps for Change, Monroe
County Dept of Health, Monroe County Sheriff’s Dept, LaCrosse County 7C’s Health Initiative, Agents for
Change, PATH, Tomah School District Nurses, Tomah & Sparta Ambulance, Fort McCoy, Tomah Police
Dept, Sparta Police Dept, WI State Patrol and Tomah Health.
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