On Wednesday, June 30, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) announced 65 new and competing continuation grants for Community-Based Coalition Enhancement Grants to Address Local Drug Crisis (CARA) program. The funding will enhance the efforts of current or former Drug-Free Communities (DFC) program recipients to prevent opioid, methamphetamine, and prescription drug use among youth ages 12-18 across the United States.
Wellness Coalition of Rural Linn County from Mount Vernon was one of the grant recipients and will receive $50,000 in CARA grant funds to involve and engage their local community to prevent substance use among youth.
The CARA grant program is a partnership between ONDCP and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It aims to reduce youth substance use by providing funding to local coalitions to help them apply evidence-based prevention strategies to the emerging challenges in their communities.
“We know that delaying substance use until after adolescence decreases the likelihood of a person developing a substance use disorder,” said ONDCP acting director Regina Labelle. “It is also important that we consider social determinants of health such as poverty, homelessness, and other conditions as we build effective prevention strategies. This funding will help support the Biden-Harris administration’s mission to expand evidence-based prevention, treatment, and harm reduction services by providing our local partners in Mount Vernon with the resources they need to reduce youth substance use.”
“Preventing youth substance will help keep our communities safe,” said Ericka Johnson, program director. “This CARA grant from the White House will help provide our local coalitions with the tools they need to apply the evidence-based prevention strategies we know will result in healthier outcomes for our youth population.”
Supporting evidence-based prevention efforts to reduce youth substance use is one of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Drug Policy Priorities for Year One, which also include:
• expanding access to evidence-based treatment;
• advancing racial equity in our approach to drug policy;
• enhancing evidence-based harm reduction efforts;
• reducing the supply of illicit substances;
• advancing recovery-ready workplaces and expanding the addiction workforce; and
• expanding access to recovery support services.