Episode 1: What is Prevention and Where Do We Start?Episode 1: What is Prevention and Where Do We Start?
An Ounce and a Pound
Host Jason Meekma and guest Chuck Klevgaard talk about what prevention really means, especially in the context of substance misuse and a global pandemic. They discuss data-driven strategies, collective impact, environmental change and resilience, showing how small, proactive steps can lead to large community benefits.
22:21•23 May 2020
Big Gains from Small Steps: Rethinking Prevention with Chuck Klevgaard
Episode Overview
- Prevention is best understood as a proactive process that creates conditions and attitudes supporting overall well-being.
- Effective prevention relies on science, data and evidence-based programmes that fit the community and are delivered with fidelity.
- Health disparities mean crises like pandemics do not affect all communities equally, making prevention work in disadvantaged groups especially important.
- Environmental strategies such as policies, community norms and communication can create lasting, wide-reaching changes in behaviour.
- Building resilience at both individual and community levels depends on social connection, shared responsibility and looking after the most vulnerable.
“Prevention is a proactive process for creating conditions and fostering attitudes that promote well-being.”
How do people find hope in the darkest times? This opening episode of *An Ounce and a Pound* answers that by zooming in on one deceptively simple idea: prevention. Hosted by Jason Meekma and featuring prevention specialist Chuck Klevgaard, the conversation breaks down what prevention actually is, why it’s usually talked about far too late, and how it links directly to issues like substance misuse, mental health, and community wellbeing.
Chuck shares one of his favourite definitions of prevention as “a proactive process for creating conditions and fostering attitudes that promote well-being,” then shows how that plays out from individual families right up to national policy. With the pandemic as a backdrop, the episode looks at how health crises and substance use are connected, especially for communities already dealing with inequality.
Chuck explains how prevention professionals lean heavily on science, data, and evidence-based practice, and why trauma-informed care has become so important as people face job loss, grief, and ongoing stress.
You’ll also hear a down-to-earth breakdown of “collective impact” — basically what happens when organisations stop working in silos and start sharing goals, measures and messaging so that, as Chuck puts it, “2 plus 2 equals 8.” From family rules around behaviour to social-emotional learning in schools and big-picture policy change, the episode repeatedly circles back to the idea of “big gains” from small, proactive steps. The conversation closes on resilience — both personal and community-wide.
Chuck links resilience to prevention’s core mission: building organised, connected communities that look after their most vulnerable members. If you’ve ever wondered why prevention gets so much lip service but so little practical attention, this episode gives you plenty to think about and some simple starting points for making prevention part of everyday life. Where could you be taking one small, proactive step today?
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