For Immediate Release
Monday, September 12, 2016
White House Drug Policy Office Awards
North Reading Community Impact Team $625k to Prevent Youth Substance Use
Grants Support Administration Efforts to Emphasize Prevention Among Youth
Last week, Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $85.9 million in grants for 698 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs across the country. The grants will provide funding to local community coalitions for preventing youth substance use, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. The North Reading Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition, a part of the Community Impact Team was one of the grant recipients and will receive $625,000 in DFC grant funds, over five years, to involve and engage the local community to prevent substance use among youth.
“The evidence-based prevention work led by local DFC community coalitions is critically needed to reduce youth substance, particularly in the midst of the national prescription opioid and heroin epidemic,” said Director Botticelli. “To fully address the opioid crisis, however, Congress must act to provide funding to make lifesaving treatment available to everyone who seeks it. The President has called for $1.1 billion in new funding for States to help expand access to treatment. Every day that passes without Congressional action to provide these additional resources is a missed opportunity to save lives.”
“Our goal is to make North Reading a safe and drug-free place for our youth,” said Youth Services Director Amy Luckiewicz. “Prevention is a powerful tool to counteract prescription drug misuse and other youth substance use in our community, and we will use this funding to help youth in North Reading make healthy choices about substance use.” Luckiewicz will serve as the grant’s Program Director and use funds to hire a full-time Program Coordinator. “This position will allow us to dedicate someone with a social services and education background full-time to tackle this difficult issue,” Luckiewicz noted.
The North Reading award will focus on marijuana use and prescription drug misuse as well as report on alcohol and tobacco use among youth 18 and under. Through focusing on the 7 Strategies for Community Change, the Coalition developed a 12-month Action Plan as part of their grant process. Luckiewicz explained, “We wouldn’t have gotten funded without a plan in place that is focused on evidence-based strategies. We’re looking forward to sharing the plan with the community.”
DFC’s 2014 National Evaluation Report showed a significant decrease in past-30-day use of prescription drugs among youth in DFC communities. The report also found a significant decrease in past-30-day use between the first and most recent data reports for alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among middle school and high school youth in DFC communities.
Prescription drug misuse prevention is one of the core measures of effectiveness for local DFC coalitions, and coalitions nationwide have led innovative opioid prevention initiatives.
This year’s DFC grantees are continuing innovative opioid prevention initiatives such as:
- In Illinois, the DuPage County Prevention Leadership Team has been working to raise awareness about the link between prescription medication misuse and heroin use. They are focusing on educating the medical community on safe prescribing practices and on promoting drug take back programs, which help people safely dispose of unused medications.
- In New York, the Cortlandt Community Coalition developed a PSA which features the progression from receiving prescription medications from a doctor to heroin use. The PSA, which has received excellent reviews, urges youth in the community to seek help for themselves or for a loved one.
- In California, the Tahoe-Truckee Future Without Drug Dependence coalition is working towards reducing access to prescription pain medications. They are focusing on safe disposal programs, and also educating prescribers on proper prescribing practices. Currently, the coalition is working with the Tahoe Forest Health System and the Placer and Nevada County Safe Opioid Steering Committee to institutionalize new best prescribing and chronic pain management practices.
Town Administrator Michael Gilleberto praised the collaboration of the Community Impact Team, “This grant award is a positive reflection on the good work of the Town of North Reading’s Community Impact Team (CIT). Under the leadership of Chief Murphy, through the hard work of Ms. Luckiewicz, and with the support of the Board of Selectmen, the CIT has brought to the table the resources of many departments and committees – all aimed at improving the quality of life for our residents. This funding will allow the CIT and the Youth Substance Abuse Coalition to implement new strategies to fight drug abuse in North Reading. We are grateful to the Federal government, and we also thank State Senator Bruce Tarr and State Representative Brad Jones for their support in obtaining state funding to support the CIT over the past few years while they planned and applied for this federal funding.”
Police Chief Michael Murphy added, “This newly created program helps fill a void in our efforts to eliminate substance abuse. Having a dedicated person, with the expertise in the field of substance abuse prevention, coordinate and implement our 12-month plan is invaluable. We’re looking forward to the positive impact of this program.”
North Reading joins 26 other Massachusetts communities that are operating prevention coalitions with the DFC Grant and was one of two communities with new successful applications for funding this year.
Background on the Drug-Free Communities Support Program
The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, is the Nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use. Directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), 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.
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.
According to data for 2014, an estimated 3,800 young people per day between the ages of 12 and 17 used drugs for the first time in the preceding year. Additionally, high school seniors are more likely to be current smokers of marijuana than cigarettes and non-medical use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs remains unacceptably high. Parents should also know that 17% of high school seniors in 2015 reported binge drinking (i.e., 5 or more drinks in a row) in the past two weeks.
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, health care 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 the majority of our Nation’s youth choose not to use drugs.
Additionally, DFC-funded communities have proven to be more effective in addressing these complex social issues and have demonstrated an increase in positive outcomes over communities that do not have DFC’s.
Background on the Administration’s National Drug Policy
The Administration’s drug policy is based on a balanced public health and public safety approach. This approach is built upon the latest scientific research demonstrating that addiction is a chronic disease of the brain that can be successfully prevented and treated, and from which one can recover. The Administration has directed Federal agencies to expand community-based efforts to prevent drug use before it begins, empower healthcare workers to intervene early at the first signs of a substance use disorder, expand access to treatment for those who need it, support the millions of Americans in recovery, and pursue “smart on crime” approaches to drug enforcement.
The President has made clear that addressing the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic is a priority for his Administration and has called for $1.1 billion in new funding for States to help expand access to treatment. While Federal agencies have been using their authority to take every available action they can, Congress needs to take action on what is most urgently needed now – additional funding to make lifesaving treatment available to everyone who seeks it.
For more information about the Administration’s efforts to reduce drug use and its consequences, or to learn more about the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, visit: https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/Drug-Free-Communities-Support-Program
About the North Reading Community Impact Team
The North Reading Community Impact Team (CIT) is a partnership between the North Reading Police Department, North Reading Youth Services, North Reading School Department, North Reading Parks & Recreation, North Reading Fire Department, North Reading Elder Services, Public Health, and the North Reading Board of Selectmen. The team was developed to better coordinate the services provided to the community. The CIT’s mission is to work together to better the quality of life for all citizens. The Team emphasizes the use of innovative, non-traditional methods of impacting crime and the fear of crime and strives toward cooperative interaction between the community, law enforcement and town departments. The CIT works to identify factors that have a negative impact on the quality of life for the citizens of North Reading and to implement solutions that solve the underlying problems. The group is organized into Action Teams including: The Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition, Public Safety, Social Services, K-12, and Outreach and Partnerships.