Our Mission

The East Boston Alliance for Support, Treatment, Intervention and Education–EASTIE–is a coalition of community agencies and residents that mobilizes youth, families, community members and leaders to prevent and reduce substance misuse among youth and adults in our community. We are a diverse coalition working together to promote a healthy East Boston for all by reducing risk factors and building protective factors at the individual, family, community and societal levels. EASTIE has actively engaged with East Boston youth and implemented communitywide, evidence and practice-based strategies to prevent and reduce youth substance use. Recognizing the importance of peer and community-led change, EASTIE is also committed to growing our youth peer leadership and parent programs to encourage young people and families to take an increasingly lead role in the coalition’s work. EASTIE's primary focus is to address mental health stressors, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and health disparities that drive East Boston youth to turn to substances as a coping mechanism. As such, EASTIE is working to prevent and reduce nicotine and marijuana vaping by middle and high school students, especially Latinx youth. In the longer term, these prevention efforts will disrupt pathways to opioid/prescription drug use, as these young people grow into adulthood. To achieve these goals, EASTIE is implementing a cross-sectoral, strengths-based and healing-centered approach to foster resilience and to promote health equity and systems change. In particular, EASTIE is using the Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences (HOPE) approach, an evidence-based framework grounded in the latest Positive and Adverse Childhood Experiences (PACEs) science that demonstrates how positive childhood experiences (PCEs) effectively prevent and significantly mitigate the negative physical, mental and behavioral health impacts of ACES, such as substance misuse.

EASTIE is also contributing to wider systemic change by aligning our efforts with substance use prevention coalitions in neighboring communities that have also adopted the HOPE framework. In addition, EASTIE is part of wider community efforts that aim to “prevent and address substance use disorder through the promotion of mental health and emotional wellness by nurturing resilient communities and building equitable, accessible and supportive systems of care” (Boston CHNA-CHIP Collaborative & MGH CHIP). Furthermore, EASTIE’s local work aligns with a growing movement of coalitions across the country that are preventing trauma and fostering resilience in their communities. Cross-sectoral coalitions that use this approach have achieved very positive results related to substance use prevention and reduction, health equity and overall youth, family and community wellbeing. The EASTIE coalition is confident that together, we can do the same in East Boston!