Danville Police Chief Christopher Yates says he is encouraged about the enthusiasm of some community stakeholders who discussed various issues facing this area Tuesday. Chief Yates says it’s important to recognize the concerns, gather data, and then see what can be done about tackling those underlying issues.
Chief Yates was one of the speakers at a meeting hosted by the Vermilion County Health Department at Danville Area Community College.
Those in attendance reviewed the results of a new Health Assessment and Community Health Plan for Vermilion County.
Some of the findings of the study include:
- The Vermilion County Teen Pregnancy Rate has dropped since the last study five years ago.
- Teen binge drinking of alcoholic beverages dropped from 40-percent to 21-percent of those responding to the survey.
- Teens who used marijuana in the past year fell from 28 to 26.8 percent, according to the survey results.
- Since the last survey drug overdose deaths in Vermilion County fell by 3-percent.
- And more than 2,000 people in Vermilion County have undergone Mental Health First Aid Training.
The report also found Vermilion County’s population has decreased by 8.5 percent since 2000. The report also found that substance abuse has risen substantially in Vermilion County and across the nation, especially with opioids and heroin, but in 2018, there was a significant decrease in Vermilion County.
The stakeholders have scheduled another meeting for February 25th and plan to continue addressing the issues raised in the report.
