Anti-Drug Coalition Wins Drug Free Communities Continuation Grant

MOUNDSVILLE – The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition has been awarded a Drug Free Communities Support Program continuation grant to help with its work of ending substance abuse among Marshall County youth.

The $125,000 grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is administered by the Marshall County Family Resource Network. Marshall County was first awarded the grant in September 2008.

The Drug Free Communities Support Program is designed to achieve two major goals:

1. Establish and strengthen collaboration among communities, private nonprofit agencies, and federal, state and local governments to support the efforts of community coalitions like the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth.

2. Reduce substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse and promoting the factors that minimize the risk of substance abuse.

“The Drug-Free Communities Grant is essential to the work of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, and we thank the Office of National Drug Control Policy and SAMHSA for their continued faith in our efforts,” said Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director of the Marshall County Family Resource Network and acting chair of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition. “The money that this grant has provided has enabled us to counter the effects of drugs and alcohol on Marshall County youth.”

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition is one of only three Drug Free Communities Support Program continuation grantees in the State of West Virginia. The other two are the Randolph County Family Resource Center in Elkins and Community Connections Inc. of Bluefield.

The Drug Free Communities Act of 1997 provides a catalyst for increased citizen participation to reduce substance use among youth, providing community anti-drug coalitions like Marshall County’s with funds to carry out its missions. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration direct the program.

The Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition began in 2003 when a group of Marshall County citizens recognized the need to combat substance abuse and rallied together to take action. Comprised of representatives from local law enforcement agencies, businesses, schools, non-profit agencies and concerned citizens, the Anti-Drug Coalition collaborates with various sectors of the county to help keep the community safe and drug-free. Meetings are held at noon on the first Friday of every month in the Historic Federal Building, 324 7th St., Moundsville. All community members who are interested in helping to reduce substance abuse in Marshall County are welcomed.

For more information about the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition, please visit marshallcountyantidrugcoalition.blogspot.com.