Help improve youth substance use prevention programs in Grays Harbor County
Published 1:30 am Friday, April 10, 2026
Every two years, the Health Care Authority (HCA) requires Harbor Strong, MYTOWN Coalition and Elevate East County to conduct a 2026 Community Survey as part of its Community Prevention and Wellness Initiative. With the survey last conducted in 2023, it’s time for the survey to be conducted again.
“This survey is to help look at the community level for our communities – what are the beliefs and knowledge and community norms [that adults have] around youth misusing substances.” said Sharalyn Steenson, a Community Health Specialist with Grays Harbor County Public Health and Harbor Strong Coalition Coordinator.
While the Community Survey is filled out by adults in the community, a companion Healthy Youth Survey is filled out by the youth.
Collectively, these survey results will inform the “different things we do throughout the year to help contribute to the development of our strategic plan and what kind of programs our community feels that there’s a need for, like what kind of things we need to address to tackle the underage substance misuse problem that we have,” Steenson said. “It’ll help guide our decision on what to do and how to best use our funds to help the community essentially.
The survey will remain open through the end of July and can be filled out via paper or online, with links available at each of the respective coalition’s websites.
“And people don’t necessarily have to live in the community they’re doing the survey for,” Steenson said. “If you live in Olympia but you work in Elma, you can definitely take the Elma survey.”
A reason for asking the community to share their observations on youth misusing substances is to ensure everyone can share their opinions, instead of only the professionals who work with youth.
“We want to get input from every sector of our community, because if we’re only surveying certain adults in the community, then you’re not getting a truly representative sample, that shows you the beliefs and knowledge and opinions of everybody in the community,” Steenson said.
Although the survey is designed to be filled out in five to seven minutes, Steenson advised that it may take 10 to 15 minutes based upon her experience watching community members fill out the survey. All the results remain anonymous.
As for why to fill out the survey, Steenson said, “I feel like most people care about the youth and the kids in our community. They’re the future of our community. And we want to do everything we can to make sure that they’re healthy, happy, stable, and on the right path. Your answers help us determine how best to help the community.”
Once the survey is closed in July, HCA will analyze the results and share them with the coalition coordinators. These results will inform the two-year strategic plans that each of the coalitions develops. Harbor Strong will begin working on its strategic plan this summer and through the rest of year, with the goal of having the plan finalized and ready for implementation in July 2027.
