I think (my youth) helps because I understand the draw to want to use your phone every day. I understand the need to connect with a lot of other people.”

Corey Silvia, coordinator, Portsmouth Prevention Coalition

PORTSMOUTH — This week and next, The Portsmouth Times is taking a look at the recharged Portsmouth Prevention Coalition and what it’s focused on locally in terms of substance abuse education. 

This week we’re featuring Corey Silvia, who was hired six months ago to be the Coalition’s new coordinator. The part-time position quickly became full-time after the organization was finally awarded a much-coveted five-year, $625,000 federal drug free communities (DFC) grant. 

A lifelong Bristol resident, the 24-year-old has undergraduate degrees in psychology and health studies with a minor in gender and women’s studies, and recently completed his master’s in public administration at Suffolk University. 

On his youth being a factor in his job as coordinator: “I think it helps because I understand the draw to want to use your phone every day. I understand the need to connect with a lot of other people. My whole mission exiting college was to build a community that youth could be a part of. I try to fold that mission into my presentations and my speaking and my communications with the students.”

How that ties into substance abuse prevention: “The reason why they’re using a substance could be an escape. I always refer to my getaway as video games; I love being emerged in something else, especially in a somewhat dense environment the whole day. The same goes for substance abuse. They probably feel it’s very nice to get away from what they’re trying to escape. I’d like to make something where they want to escape to. I can make it on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat. But the first step is figuring out what they want.”

How he came to this job: “After getting my undergraduate degrees, I spent four months pondering what’s next for me and it was during the same time period that a lot of political shifts were happening. The whole change in the political environment really invigorated me — not necessarily by politics, but how politics can function. And how it can function on a level that young people can understand it. That led me to my master’s program in public administration. I just began looking around for municipal jobs. Municipal governments need to be the platform for functionality for anything else to work.”

Part-time job quickly becomes full-time: “Within a month I found out that my budget expanded from just over $31,000 to almost over $200,000, because not only did we receive the DFC grant, there’s another grant we’re receiving through the region which is going into building a network of prevention and treatment throughout Aquidneck Island.”

On the need for change: “In six months I’ve built relationships and the Coalition is in a better place now than it was six months ago. Previously, the Coalition wasn’t able to plan years in the future, but now we can. That’s partly due to the DFC grant, of course, but it’s also due to a needed change in leadership. Not to belittle anything that was done in the past, but there needs to be a constant change when it comes to prevention, because trends are constantly changing. The more perspectives we can get, the better. And that’s part of the reason I don’t expect to stay in this position for too long, because I don’t want to get stale. I plan on being here probably for a good solid year and a half, but that doesn’t mean I’m cutting it off to that date. If the position suits me, I’ll stay longer. My biggest approach is about functionality; I want to make sure this thing works beyond me.”

On the possibility of recreational marijuana being legalized in Rhode Island:  “Personally, I think it will happen within the next three years. By nature, a prevention coalition should be against legalization, but my reason for being against legalization isn’t necessarily about usage. It’s because the state hasn’t necessarily been responsible about it, around the regulatory nature of it. I also question how little input the coalitions and municipalities have had on this issue.”

On how legalization would impact the local area: “If legalization happens, the dispensaries are going to be the first ones to buy into commercial sales. That’s going to interrupt a lot when it comes to infrastructure and will become a pain when it comes to traffic. I’m sure some people complain about how slow you have to drive in front of Melville (School). Now it’s going to be like that all the time because the dispensary is right up the street. It’s not a comprehensive approach to legalization. (The state) is not exactly looking at and connecting the tax dollars to the areas that are going to need the support, like social services. We know there’s going to be an increased need for mental health providers, police patrols and regulatory enforcement. In the budget, there’s very little money being connected to all those things. As you can see (from the Fall River recreational marijuana dispensary that recently opened), there’s an interest in it. Is there a value to the economic stability that it could provide? Absolutely, but first you need you care for what it’s going to offset.”

How he spends his free time: “I like RPGs (roleplaying video games), particularly JRPGs (Japanese RPGs) like ‘Final Fantasy.’ It connects me to a youth standpoint and being able to talk about that level of activity. I’ve never played a sport; I don’t like them. I’m also really into going for walks; it allows me to have such a healthy internal conversation with myself. I’m also into spirituality and I’m a Reiki master practitioner; it’s something that connects me to humanity. That’s something that drew me into doing this work. You have a conversation with your internal self to make sure you’re OK, so you should have a conversation with your external peers to make sure they’re OK.”

How that ties in with a new yoga program at the middle school: “Yes, the Coalition actually supports it. It’s called Tools for Today and Tomorrow. We kind of stripped the spirituality from it. It’s functional — like counting your breaths, how to relax, being able to close your eyes and understand what’s what. Lynda West from Tenth Gate (Center for Yoga and Meditation) teaches it and she does wonderful work with these kids. These are fifth-graders who can choose this program instead of going to recess. There’s about 15 to 20 students who regularly go every Monday.”

On his office digs at the Brown House: “I do like it for the most part. It’s kind of central but not — it’s off the beaten path. But we were in the middle school for for hours of presentations on Monday and for hours of talking circle on Wednesday; I would like to have that type of office as well. There’s conversations around the regional coalition coming here, so if they’re here we will definitely be here. But at the end of the day if you want to make changes with youth, you have to be with youth. Most of the time I’m not here. My office can come with me. I like to make sure we can have easy communications with everyone.”

Mr. Corey said the best way to reach the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition is by e-mail: portsmouth@riprevention.org.