Cafe Prevention

To understand Cafe Prevention, one must first understand Community Partnership (CPO). Begun in 1991, the mission of CPO is to build resilient children, healthy families and strong communities through collaboration, programming and resource development.

Located in the heart of downtown Springfield, Missouri, our staff works primarily in a 21-county region of the state. Governed by a strong board of directors, these individuals offer insightful feedback and often collaborate with us on new product ideas. When you have board members such as County Commissioners, the Chief of Police, Superintendents and professors from schools and universities, the City Manager, CEO’s of the Chamber, Health Department, Treatment Providers and youth serving organizations, as well as representatives from the medical and faith community, parents and youth, you can be sure you have your finger on the pulse of the community’s needs.

Originally an organization dedicated solely to the prevention of substance abuse, particularly among young people, it quickly became evident that poverty, homelessness, violence, teen issues, crime, a lack of parenting skills, and the like were inextricably linked to substance abuse. It was clear that a more holistic approach was needed.

Today, we help communities build coalitions to prevent and reduce substance abuse with a focus on research based strategies; work with city and county governments, including law enforcement, to tackle community and neighborhood issues; partner with schools and universities to provide research based programming and resources; and provide one-on-one technical assistance to parents and child care providers on ways to encourage kindergarten readiness, prevent childhood obesity and so much more.

To be honest, we did not set out to create Cafe Prevention. Over 15 years ago we discovered that the materials available for us to use with our communities were lacking –either in quality, content, format, or appeal. So, we developed our own and have done so ever since. In 2007, we began to make our high quality, innovative, hard-hitting materials available to all as a way to get great prevention materials to others, and as a way to help sustain the good works of our organization.

Since its inception, CPO’s primary funding has come from federal, state and local grants. However, grant funding is always uncertain funding, and so to allow us to continue our good work, and to respond to continued requests for our materials from agencies across the country, Cafe Prevention was born in 2007.

The staff at Cafe Prevention / Community Partnership knows a great deal about what works and what doesn’t, and we are happy to help you in the hard, hard work of building resilient kids, healthy families and strong communities. We believe our products really can inspire change in the lives and minds of the people who use them.