White House Awards PREVENT! Coalition Additional Funding to Combat Youth Substance Abuse in Clark County
PREVENT! The Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Clark County, a community coalition based out of Educational Service District 112 and the recipient of a $500,000 Drug Free Communities (DFC) Grant, was one of 20 coalitions across the country to receive an additional $150,000 DFC Mentorship Grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to expand their prevention efforts.
The additional grant money will allow PREVENT! to mentor the Clark County Drug Action Team (CDAT) to implement the DFC framework and successfully garner DFC funds for the Hazel Dell community, potentially $1.25 million to combat substance abuse over the next 10 years in Hazel Dell.
“The Drug Free Communities program recognizes the great potential of PREVENT! to help save lives of youth. “This new funding will allow PREVENT! to mobilize and organize their community to prevent and reduce youth substance use.” ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske said.
The DFC program facilitates citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, the media, and others working together to reduce youth substance abuse.
CDAT, formerly the Clark County Meth Action Team (CMAT) was championed by Sheriff Lucas and formed in 2001 to address the county’s meth epidemic. As the mentee coalition, CDAT will receive training and support from PREVENT! with the goal that CDAT will secure its own DFC funding. Data show that CDAT has contributed to the reduction of meth labs and meth use in Clark County.
“CDAT is an exceptional group of volunteers and community partners who have done excellent work to portray a message of hope and recovery from meth, we are excited to harness our experience with community mobilization to focus on preventing youth substance abuse in the Hazel Dell community” CDAT Director, Toni Eby said.
“Receiving the grant is a testament to the great work PREVENT! is doing and to the outstanding foundation CDAT has built over a decade of working successfully on meth-related issues. I am excited to see both PREVENT! and CDAT grow and expand with these new resources!” said PREVENT! director, Sondra Storm.
“Data show that community efforts to reduce youth substance use through the DFC program are effective. I commend coalitions like PREVENT! and CDAT, who work tirelessly to prevent and reduce youth drug use across the Nation.” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. “SAMHSA is pleased to join the Office of National Drug Control Policy in supporting coalitions like PREVENT! and CDAT that are bringing citizens together to create healthy and drug-free environments for children."
October 11, 2011