Dubois County substance abuse coalition receives $625,000 to reduce teen drug/alcohol abuse
A public partnership to empower teens to be drug and alcohol-free has been awarded a $625,000 grant to support its efforts over the next five years.
Dubois County CARES (Coalition for Adolescent Resilience and Empowerment Strategies) received notice they had been awarded the Drug-Free Communities grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) last Friday. This was the second time the group has applied for the grant. Dubois County CARES was the only organization to receive the grant among the 70 national applicants, three of which were from Indiana.
Dubois County CARES will receive $125,000 annually from the grant for the next five years. The group is required to match the grant dollar for dollar with in-kind volunteer hours or funds. While they are taking steps to raise some funds as part of the matching portion, most of the match will be accomplished through in-kind volunteer hours and services. Through these efforts, $250,000 will be dedicated to reducing teenage drug—specifically, marijuana—and alcohol use.
To help facilitate the continued collaboration and communication around this issue, the money will fund a coordinator for the group. Dubois County CARES board member Deb Capps explained this position will be vital to the organization’s future success.
“With having somebody who can really focus in, we are expecting great things,” she said. “It is crucial to have this one person working with our schools and community organizations to address youth substance abuse. We haven’t had anyone that could give that level of concentration to this since we have all been doing this a volunteers with the group.”
Additionally, the funds will be used to increase the number of volunteer stakeholders involved in the group as well as provide more professional development for members of the group and the community.
Dubois Count CARES is required to show progress each year to remain eligible for the grant. That progress will be largely monitored through the impacts seen in the Indiana Youth Survey, an annual survey that tracks teen drug and alcohol use in the state, as well as how well the group implements the 12-month action plan it submitted in the grant application.
Among those steps are plans create more awareness through a public relations campaign the includes bumper-stickers, meetings with owners of local liquor stores where some materials could be placed, media materials made for schools and places of employment, training sessions to help community members realize the long-term impacts of drug and alcohol use on developing brains as well as joining the efforts of other children-focused groups in the county.
They will also continue to manage this new awareness site developed over the summer by a Purdue Extension intern.
Capps, who is also the Health Service Director at TRI-CAP, applied for the grant and her office will facilitate the funds. The new coordinator will also be an employee of TRI-CAP.
“This grant will give us the momentum and resources to truly empower our youth to be alcohol and drug free,” she said. “With this grant, we will be able to change the culture behind youth substance use in our county, including lowering teen alcohol consumption and marijuana use.”
According to Capps, regardless of whether the group had received the grant, they had already committed to moving forward with their action plan over the next 12 months.
Dubois County CARES formed in 2014 and then hosted a series of townhall meetings in 2016 to discuss teen substance abuse.
According to Donna Oeding, the group’s chair, receiving this funding will provide Dubois County an excellent opportunity to champion change relating to youth substance use.
“If there are parents out there, a business, school group or anybody involved in the youth that wants to get involved and provide input, we would be happy to hear from them,” Oeding said.
The group currently maintains a Facebook Page here.
Very interested in this project. I am an RN with psych/addiction background.