ONDCP Announces 150 New Drug-Free Communities Grants Aimed at Preventing Youth Substance Use
On October 30th, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced 150 new grants for its Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. The DFC Program provides grants to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use. Recognizing that local problems need local solutions, DFC-funded coalitions engage multiple sectors of the community and employ a variety of environmental strategies to address local substance use problems.
The Carmel Communities That Care (CTC) Coalition from Carmel, NY was one of the grant recipients and will receive $125,000 in DFC grant funds to involve and engage their local community to prevent substance use among youth. The Prevention Council of Putnam is grantee for the Coalition and will assist the Coalition in implementing the grant. “Our goal is to make Carmel a safe and drug-free place for our youth,” said Kristin McConnell “Prevention is a powerful tool to counteract drug use in our community, and we will use this funding to help youth in Carmel make healthy choices about substance use.”
The DFC Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions that facilitate youth and adult participation at the community level in local youth drug use prevention efforts. Recognizing that local problems need local solutions, DFC-funded coalitions engage multiple sectors of the community and employ a variety of environmental strategies to address local drug problems. Coalitions are comprised of community leaders, parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, healthcare and business professionals, law enforcement, and media. By involving the community in a solution-oriented approach, DFC also helps those youth at risk for substance use recognize that the majority of our Nation’s youth choose not to use drugs.
The DFC Program is effective – since the program’s inception, the past 30-day prevalence of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and prescription drug misuse has declined significantly among middle school and high school aged youth in the DFC-funded community.