(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) announced today that she has helped secure nearly $900,000 in matching grants to the Drug-Free Communities program in nine communities throughout Washington state. The Program, an initiative of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is implemented through local coalitions that work to prevent and reduce drug, alcohol, and tobacco use among youth, and are comprised of parents, youth, teachers, religious and fraternal organizations, health care and business professionals, law enforcement, the media, and community leaders. The nine grants Murray helped secure are part of a larger pool of 226 grants totaling $21.9 million for such coalitions across the nation.
“I’m glad we’ve been able to get this funding to support people who are working to keep drugs out of their communities,” Murray said. “Washington state is being ravaged by the influx of B.C. Bud and Meth, but hopefully these additional funds will help our communities turn the tide in this ongoing battle to protect our families and children.”
The Drug-Free Communities Program provides grants of up to $100,000 to community organizations that serve as catalysts for citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. A competitive peer review process selected this year’s awardees from 512 applicants.
John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush’s “Drug Czar,” said, “The grants that we are announcing today bring critical resources to expand community prevention across America. Prevention is the most effective way to protect our communities from the heartaches, addiction, and crime associated with illegal drug use.”
The following Washington state communities and coalitions received grant funding:
Clallam County – Department of Health and Human Services
Award Amount: $100,000
The Clallam County Prevention Works! Community Coalition serves Clallam County. Overall project goals include reduction of substance abuse among youth, and eventually among adults, by identifying and addressing the risk and protective factors of the community. Also, Prevention Works! will work to strengthen collaboration among the prevention partners in Clallam County, including communities, non-profits, and government. To achieve these goals, the coalition will implement a public information/social marketing campaign, continue to collaborate and coordinate substance abuse prevention programs that employ research-based prevention strategies and on-going evaluation, expand parent education to parents of children through age 18, complete the process of becoming a 501c3 and expand grant funding, and increase coalition membership by 10%.
Benton and Franklin Counties – Benton Franklin Substance Abuse Coalition
Award Amount: $99,541
The Benton-Franklin Substance Abuse Coalition (BFSAC) has served Benton and Franklin Counties for fifteen years. It has developed a multi-strategy Continuum of Prevention and served as a greenhouse coalition by spinning off or founding several prevention programs and coalitions, which continue to collaborate as members of the coalition. The addition of the “Strengthening Families Program 10-14”, a best-practice, multi-cultural program, will help bridge this gap by starting a new community-focused collaborative initiative. It is designed to prevent teen substance abuse by strengthening parenting skills and building family strength, all essential elements in addressing drug abuse.
City of Longview – Longview Police Department
Award Amount: $99,924
The Longview Drug-Free Communities Program is a coalition led by the Problem Solving Partnership, which was established in 1997 to answer the Highland’s growing drug and crime problems. In 2003, crime in Longview rose 27%, and the 33rd and Dorothy area, which the program will now include, was at the center of the crime increases. Family and community domain groups will create local strategies to reduce substance abuse among youth, improve prevention, and reduce drug use in the neighborhood. The Problem Solving Partnership works closely with Longview Schools, Cowlitz County Health and Human Services, law enforcement, community groups, and residents to support activities through domain task groups and evaluate their impact.
Federal Way – Wonderwood Village DFC Coalition
Award Amount: $100,000
The 2,792 students of the ‘Wonderwood Village Coalition’ represent the Southeast Corner of the City of Federal Way WA. In 2003-2004, the PTA Drug Free Communities’ Wonderwood Village Coalition seeks to reduce youth drug and alcohol use to decrease future adult substance abuse. In consultation with the State PTA, the Coalition developed this proposal with the Drug Free Schools and Communities technical assistance group at the University of Washington—using six evidence-based strategies of successful school-community prevention networks. The PTA-led Coalition will expand to a 5-school “Village” through a national Communities in Schools model serving a wide diversity of families based on an Urban Village resource cluster.
Seattle – Seattle Neighborhood Group
Award Amount: $93,995
The Southwest Communities for Drug-Free Youth (SWCFDFY) Project serves the Southwest Seattle Weed and Seed site, which consists of part of the Delridge neighborhood of Southwest Seattle and part of the White Center community. The group seeks to reduce participation and involvement in illegal gang and drug activities. For this program, the SWCFDFY goals are to working with the community to set expectations and standards for non-drug use among youth living in the area; decreasing the actual and perceived availability of drugs (including alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs) within the area; decreasing low neighborhood attachment by promoting positive activities that engage youth, families, community members, businesses and law enforcement; expanding, strengthening and maintaining the Coalition so that it is empowered to take leadership and help make positive changes within the area.
Snoqualmie Valley – Family Policy Council Network
Award Amount: $100,000
The Snoqualmie Valley Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition serves the Riverview and Snoqualmie Valley School Districts. The goals of the program are to develop effective community responses to youth substance abuse, and enhance efforts to address the specific problem of substance abuse by Snoqualmie Valley youth. To achieve these goals, the coalition will facilitate a youth media forum, address community and school rewards, improve family management, and reduce barriers to learning.
Tacoma – Community Counseling Institute, Non Profit Organization
Award Amount: $100,000
The problems to be addressed by the partnership include community fragmentation and the high incidence of substance abuse among youth. Goals and objectives include: targeting youth from diverse backgrounds and providing prevention/intervention services, reducing substance abuse among youth by addressing risk factors and promoting protective factors, and strengthening collaboration among the community agencies to enhance the Partnership’s efforts.
San Juan County Washington, Department of Health and Community Services
Award Amount: $93,700
In 2002, the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition was established by members of the San Juan County Health and Community Services Advisory Board following a series of alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes on San Juan Island. The Coalition includes all of San Juan Island Washington. The mission of the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition is to reduce substance abuse and change community culture to empower youth, family members and other adults to make healthier choices and lead healthier lives.
The Coalition has sponsored several community discussions of youth substance abuse problems and has sought funding to hire staff to coordinate these and additional prevention activities on San Juan Island. The funding will go toward public awareness campaigns and better communication to the community regarding substance abuse and coalition prevention activities; and coordination of programs and activities among all sectors of the community to empower youth, break up the youth culture of substance abuse, develop intergenerational relationships between youth and adults in the community, and promote family fun activities to demonstrate that alcohol and drugs are unnecessary;
Seattle/King County – Neighborhood House
Award Amount: $93,700
Neighborhood House’s serves Cambodian youth. Its goals are 1) to strengthen multi-sector collaborations to build capacity within the Cambodian community by increasing substance abuse prevention skills and knowledge to make informed decisions that will effectively respond to substance abuse problems among Cambodian youth and adults; and 2) to develop effective strategies to reduce substance abuse among Cambodian youth and adults by addressing the factors in Cambodian refugee communities that increase the risk of substance abuse.
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