APPROACH TO 

NATIONAL PREVENTION WEEK

In January 2023, SAMHSA launched a refreshed National Prevention Week brand that includes 

an updated logo design and a new tagline. While the team revaluated the goals and objectives of 

National Prevention Week to create the new brand, there was also an opportunity to reframe the

approach to National Prevention Week. 

A New Approach to Better Suit Your Needs

We recognize that important prevention work happens every day, not just during the second week 

of May. The new approach to National Prevention Week will celebrate and promote these yearround initiatives and the possibilities prevention brings. Moving forward, we envision National 

Prevention Week as a week-long celebration where SAMHSA will showcase your events and 

activities that take place throughout the year and provide a platform for the community to come 

together to learn from each other and highlight promising approaches and best practices in 

prevention. However, organizations can still hold their own events during National Prevention 

Week, and we encourage you to promote the week through your social media channels. We believe 

this approach will help better support your broader-long-term promotion and engagement goals 

with funders, partners, and other stakeholders.

This year, we are moving away from using the pre-determined daily themes, as we know that it

may be difficult to execute specific topic-related activities for each day. Instead, we have provided 

some examples of prevention-related themes that you can pick and choose from to ensure your 

National Prevention Week celebration is topical and relevant to your communities’ needs! 

SAMPLE THEMES 

• Substance Misuse Prevention

- Prescription Drug and Opioid Misuse 

- Underage Drinking and Alcohol Misuse

- Illicit Drug Use and Youth Marijuana Misuse

- Youth Tobacco Use (E-Cigarettes and Vaping)

• Overdose Prevention

• Promoting Mental Health and Wellness

• Suicide Prevention

• Enhancing the Prevention Workforce

• Highlighting Prevention Efforts in Your Community

• Celebrating Prevention Heroes in Your Community 
We Want to Hear from You

Our goal for the new approach is to facilitate deeper and more meaningful relationships with 

prevention organizations. In the past, outreach to organizations has mainly taken place from 

January to May with little engagement throughout the rest of the year. Additionally, National 

Prevention Week Materials were developed and distributed without the opportunity for us to 

receive your feedback.

Our new approach encourages steady engagement, year-round, which allows for building deeper 

relationships and collecting stories to showcase. This means that you can expect more National 

Prevention Week activities, promotion, and resources throughout the whole year – not just in May! 

Most importantly, we want to hear from you. We are building in time, leading up to National 

Prevention Week and throughout the year, for proper partner feedback so that we can ensure our 

efforts are going where they are most needed and appreciated from the prevention community we 

are serving. 

Your feedback and input will help guide future National Prevention Week celebrations. From weekly 

activities to planning toolkits, we want to know what works for you so that National Prevention 

Week can best serve prevention organizations. We encourage you to reach out to 

David.Wilson@samhsa.hhs.gov with your thoughts and insights.