Explaining Prevention: A Guided Walkthrough of the River Story Toolkit
Ever been asked, “Prevention of what?”
This toolkit gives you a clear, powerful answer.
The River Story Prevention Toolkit, created by the Cross-Systems Prevention Network (CSPN) in collaboration with the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance (CPA), helps you make prevention visible anywhere you work, meet, or gather.
The Toolkit helps you explain prevention in a way anyone can understand. Using the River Story metaphor, it illustrates how upstream prevention can reduce challenges like substance misuse, school disconnection, and violence, while strengthening protective factors such as family support, caring schools, and community connections. You’ll find ready-to-use slides, talking points, and a checklist to spark meaningful conversations with funders, partners, and community groups.
Download the slides, share the story, and start the conversation today!
Community Resources
All resources from the call are now available. Access practical tools, guides, and materials to support your work with actionable strategies for discussing prevention and promoting community health.
➡️ Ready-to-use Slides for Your Presentations
Add the slides to any presentation or use them as standalone talking points. Add your logo and personalize for any audience.
Download the Slides
➡️ The River Story Prevention Toolkit
Use the toolkit, including the guide and checklist, to explain prevention clearly and spark meaningful conversations.
Toolkit Guide and Checklist
➡️ River Story Video with Parable
See the River Story come to life! This video shares the parable video, showing how upstream prevention can reduce challenges and strengthen families, schools, and communities. Download, link, or share anywhere.
Video Presentation with Parable
➡️ River Story Video without Parable
Get the essentials! This video highlights prevention strategies and protective factors in a clear, concise format. It is perfect for any presentation or training (the parable video is not embedded in the slides). Download, link, or share anywhere.
Video Presentation without Parable
Take Action This Prevention Month
The River Story Toolkit isn’t just a download; it’s a way to show your community what prevention looks like.
- Download it – grab the slides, talking points, and guide
- Share it – bring it into at least two spaces this October (a meeting, a training, a community event).
- Tag it – post on social media and tag @CommonwealthPreventionAlliance so your voice gets amplified statewide.
Every time you share the toolkit, you make prevention clearer, louder, and harder to ignore.
About CSPN
The Cross Systems Prevention Network (CSPN) members are a dynamic cross-system collaboration committed to enhancing the well-being of our youth and communities. Our passionate network of primary prevention stakeholders works tirelessly to tackle behavioral and mental health challenges head-on.
Our Mission
Promote healthy youth development by building a continuum of effective prevention strategies financed with sustained funding, which results in more durable and longer-lasting effects of community prevention efforts.
Our Goals
- Empower Communities: We aim to broaden the application of effective early prevention approaches, ensuring every community can thrive.
- Amplify Resources: By increasing access to sustainable funding, we facilitate the widespread dissemination of impactful prevention initiatives.
- Be Responsible Stewards: We are dedicated to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used effectively, maximizing the benefits for our communities.
Empowering Prevention Through Collaboration: Insights from CSPN
We are thrilled to present two insightful videos featuring our CSPN coordinator and founding member, recorded at the recent Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance (CPA). These videos highlight our mission to facilitate collaboration among diverse stakeholders, prioritizing effective prevention strategies with an intentional focus on upstream early prevention.
Our members, representing areas such as mental health, education, physical health, child welfare, and more, come together and unite in the commitment to enhance primary prevention within their respective systems. Join us as we explore the vital role of collaboration in shaping a healthier future for our communities!
Amy Eisert, founding member of CSPN
Kristina Jeanty, Project Coordinator of CSPN
If you have any questions, please contact Kristina Jeanty at klj5582@psu.edu.
State Agencies and Associations Represented
- Commonwealth Prevention Alliance
- County Commissioners Association of PA
- PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency
- PA Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
- PA Department of Education
- PA Department of Health
- PA Department of Human Services
- PA Liquor Control Board
- PA Office of Attorney General
- PA Recreation and Park Society
- Pennsylvania State University