Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition receives federal grant to prevent youth drug abuse

Mount Carmel, Illinois — The Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition has been selected as the recipient of a $125,000 federal grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) through the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. This grant program, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides an opportunity to support ongoing efforts to prevent drug use among youth in our community.

ONDCP's DFC program is the nation's leading community mobilization initiative to prevent and reduce youth drug use. The DFC program provides federal grants to community coalitions to identify and address their community's specific problems and change community conditions associated with youth drug use. This grant will enable the Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition to continue building a safe, healthy, drug-free community.

“Substance use prevention is critical today to prevent today’s youth from becoming tomorrow’s overdose victims. We are thrilled to award this grant because we know the results DFC-funded coalitions can achieve when they implement evidence-based prevention strategies at the local level,” said Helen Hernandez, DFC Program Administrator at ONDCP“Through the DFC program, CDC empowers community coalitions to implement local solutions to unique, local conditions with the common goal of preventing youth drug use.” added Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the CDC.

“The Wabash County Drug Free Community Coalition is grateful for the support and partnership with ONDCP and CDC,” said Judy Wissel, Director of the Wabash County Health Department. “We are proud to share this mission and effort to prevent youth drug use and protect the well-being of our community. Additionally, this grant allows us to better collaborate with our partners, including the Wabash County Health Department, Wabash County Sheriff's Office, Mount Carmel Police Department, Wabash CUSD #348, Wabash County Chamber of Commerce, WSJD-FM radio station, Allendale Community Consolidated School District, HERO Foundation, First Christian Church of Allendale, Rotary Club, Wabash General Hospital, Wabash Community Health Center, and Wabash County Drug Court. By focusing our collective expertise and resources on this critical issue, we will ensure a positive impact on our youth and our community.”

For more information about the DFC program, see Here.