1. United Communities Against Meth (UCAM) Jessica King Whitney Langwell

2. United Communities Against Meth (UCAM)  Collaboration with Monmouth/Independence YMCA and Western Oregon University.  Focuses on prevention and intervention with meth abuse.  Targets citizens of Polk County Oregon.  Geared towards educating, promoting, and preventing the spread of the meth epidemic.

3. Methamphetamine  Highly addictive stimulant.  Made up of toxic chemicals such as: iodine, acetone, battery acid, lye, drain cleaner, sulfuric acid, anti-freeze, pseudoephedrine.  Can be smoked, snorted, injected intravenously, and taken orally.  Slang terms for meth include: crank, chalk, crystal, ice, zip, and quartz.

4. Some of the chemicals used to make meth.

5. Meth cont.  Short term effects: tremors, scabbing, paranoia, irritability, dry mouth, decreased appetite, insomnia, convulsions.  Long term effects: brain damage, lung damage, kidney damage, psychosis, depression, sores, and rotten teeth.

6. Faces of Meth

7. Demographics of Polk County  Population was 75,265 in 2007  51.6% female, 48.4% male  Residents 25 years and older with a high school diploma is 85.5%.  Residents 25 years and older with a bachelor’s degree is 25.3%.  10.8% of residents live below the poverty line.  21.9% are under the age of 18.

8. How does meth affect children?  Children are the littlest victims.  Often times they are neglected and abused.  They are exposed to the toxins used to make meth. These toxins can cause burns, fires, or explosions.  Many times children are displaced from their homes due to meth.

9. Objectives of UCAM  To continue expanding the connections between Western Oregon University, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Willamette University, Portland State University, and University of Portland.  To continue working on finding foster care homes and emergency shelters.  Collect donations for “Operation T-shirt”.  Assist the YMCA in chaperoning “Nite Court”.

10. “Operation T-Shirt”  Biannual clothing drive to collect clothes for kids who have been displaced due to meth abuse.  Lasts for one month.  Collection boxes are located at various businesses in Dallas, Monmouth, and Independence.

11. “Nite Court”  Hosted at Talmadge Middle School.  A safe and fun place for kids to hang out on Saturday nights.  Activities include dances, games, and open gym.  Pizza and soda are provided.  Kids are able to be in a positive atmosphere.

12. Forum  Provides resources and information on meth to people in the community who have been affected by meth.  Is scheduled for October 30 th, 2009 at Western Oregon University.  Will be streaming live via webcam and broadcast to other universities.

13. Foster Care Homes/Emergency Shelters  There is a lack of foster care homes and emergency shelters for the children displaced by meth.  UCAM helps find people who are willing to take in the children.  UCAM will continue to assist locating safe and stable foster care homes and emergency shelters.

14. Future of UCAM  Long term goals for UCAM is to submit the grant proposal over the summer to obtain much needed funding.  Hire a full-time director to oversee UCAM.  Raise awareness for the UCAM program at the Hop and Heritage Festival.  To continue to provide information and resources on the meth epidemic to the community.

15. References  NIDA InfoFacts: Methamphetamine. (2008, June). National Institute on Drug Abuse. Retrieved April 7, 2009, from Http://www.nida.nih.gov/InfoFacts/methamphet amine.html Http://www.nida.nih.gov/InfoFacts/methamphet amine.html Http://www.nida.nih.gov/InfoFacts/methamphet amine.html  Cleaning up former methamphetamine labs. (2008). KCI the anti-meth site. Retrieved April 18, 2009, from http://www.kci.org/meth_info/meth_cleanup.ht m http://www.kci.org/meth_info/meth_cleanup.ht m http://www.kci.org/meth_info/meth_cleanup.ht m

16. References cont.  Polk County Quickfacts. (2009, February). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41/41 053.html http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41/41 053.html http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/41/41 053.html