Positive Directions Awarded Federal Grant for Youth Substance Use Prevention

We are proud to announce that we have been awarded a five-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and CDC to support our work in Norwalk with the local prevention coalition, The Norwalk Partnership (TNP). This is our second DFC grant on behalf of TNP and represents an opportunity to strengthen and sustain the gains made during the first five years of funding, which brought much-needed resources to the community.

The first five-year, $625,000 grant allowed us to bring together community partners to relaunch local prevention efforts by developing The Norwalk Partnership (TNP), with the mission of preventing substance misuse and promoting mental wellness in Norwalk youth and young adults. TNP has been able to build a multi-sector leadership team and active engagement by community stakeholders, fostering collaborative data sharing, planning, and strategy development. The grant funds are used to conduct youth and community surveys; provide prevention leadership and coordination; create resources such as the TNP website, city resource guides, campaigns, and posters; develop and support a youth coalition known as TNP Teens (formerly Norwalk Strong); develop initiatives such as Liquor Stickers, Teen Nights Out, and the annual NorWALK for Mental Health event; and provide education and awareness to parents, youth, health teachers, legislators; and more.

"We are so grateful for the support and partnership of ONDCP and CDC," comments Margaret Watt, Prevention Director here at Positive Directions and member of TNP’s leadership team. "Through this grant, The Norwalk Partnership will be able to continue to build a safe, healthy, and drug-free community for kids. This grant will allow us to grow our reach and address our highest-risk communities.” 

“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).

About the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program

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.

“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.