Positive Directions Awarded Federal Grant for Youth Prevention

Westport, CT — Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention and Counseling has been selected as the recipient of a five-year, $625,000 follow-on federal grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), under the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. The DFC grant, administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was awarded to Positive Directions on behalf of Norwalk’s local prevention coalition, The Norwalk Partnership (TNP). This award represents an opportunity to strengthen and sustain TNP’s ongoing efforts in its mission to prevent substance misuse and promote mental wellness among Norwalk youth and young adults.

ONDCP's DFC program is the nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. The DFC program provides federal grants to community coalitions to identify and respond to the issues unique to their community and change community conditions tied to youth substance use. With this grant, The Norwalk Partnership will be able to continue building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community for our children and teens.

“Preventing substance use today is critical so that today’s youth don’t become tomorrow’s overdose victims. We are thrilled to award this grant because we know the outcomes DFC-funded coalitions are capable of achieving when implementing evidence-based prevention strategies at the local level,” said Helen Hernandez, Administrator of the DFC Program at ONDCP. “Through the DFC program, CDC is empowering community coalitions to implement local solutions to unique, local conditions, with the common goal of preventing youth substance use,” added Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC.

“We are grateful for the support of and partnership with ONDCP and CDC and proud to share in the mission to prevent youth substance misuse and protect the wellbeing of our community,” said Margaret Watt, Prevention Director at Positive Directions and member of TNP’s leadership team. “The first DFC grant allowed us to build TNP as a community coalition with the capacity to identify and respond to the challenges faced by our kids today. DFC funding supports our school and community surveys, as well as our efforts to coordinate, plan, and implement educational and environmental strategies in collaboration with our many partners. This follow-on grant will allow us to grow our work and address our highest-risk communities.”

As a community coalition, TNP’s partners include a wide variety of stakeholders, including youth, parents, local health and youth-serving organizations, nonprofits and businesses, and others. TNP’s leadership team is made up of senior staff from Positive Directions, the Human Services Council, the CIty of Norwalk Community Services, Norwalk Public Schools, Norwalk Police Department, the Courage to Speak Foundation, and Triangle Community Center.

“By engaging teachers, parents, and local leaders, The Norwalk Partnership ensures its vision of a healthy, supportive city is reinforced by a range of advocates, all of whom want to see our community’s young people thrive. I’m thrilled that Positive Directions as a leading local non-profit was selected to receive their second five-year Drug Free Communities grant for TNP, and I know they will use the federal funding to create even better resources for Norwalk’s children,” said Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04).