(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Today, 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 strategies to address local substance use problems.
Upstream Prevention, Inc. in Greenwood, Indiana and Scott County Partnership, Inc. in Scottsburg, Indiana were two of the grant recipients and will each receive $125,000 in DFC grant funds to involve and engage our local communities to prevent substance use among youth.
“In order to create safe and healthy places for the next generation to grow up, we must break through to our children now and educate them about the dangers of substance use. The Drug-Free Communities, administered by our office across the United States, are proven prevention programs tailored to do just that by meeting the local prevention needs in each community. The Trump Administration will continue expanding the number of community-based coalitions dedicated to the critical mission of stopping substance use among our youth before it starts,” said ONDCP Director Jim Carroll.
In June 2018, Representative Trey Hollingsworth (IN-09) voted to reauthorize the DFC Support Program through his vote in the U.S. House of Representatives on H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act of 2018. H.R. 6 was a compilation of more than 50 bills to forge ahead in our country’s historic fight to provide tools to Hoosier families and communities hit by the scourge of opioid addiction. President Trump signed the bill into law on October 24, 2018.
“Upstream Prevention, Scott County Partnership, and dedicated Hoosiers across Indiana are making a difference through their devotion to our kids and drug use prevention in our communities,” said Rep. Trey Hollingsworth. “Drug abuse is also among top issues I hear about from our local law enforcement. These grants will support our law enforcement officers who are on the front lines working to keep our communities drug-free.”
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), 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.
