Girls Inc., Lynn community group awarded $625G grant

LYNN – Girls Inc., in partnership with the Lynn Communities That Care Coalition, has been awarded $625,000 in federal funding over five years to foster substance abuse prevention in the city.The White House, through the National Drug Control Policy, gave the two organizations $125,000 per year for five years.The two organizations will use the money to continue to fund the current initiatives related to substance abuse prevention introduced since 2003, such as reducing underage access to alcohol with compliance checks, conducting so-called Shoulder Tap surveys, and community education campaigns.The grant will also fund community and family education programs, neighborhood development projects and support other Communities that Care programs, according to Rep. Steven Walsh, a Lynn Democrat.Girls Inc. and the coalition will continue to work with their partners including the Lynn Police Department, the schools, and the city to determine other needs and develop new programs to meet those needs, he said.”This is great news for Girls Inc., the CTC and the city of Lynn,” said CTC Executive board Member Val Buchanan. “Our coalition’s mission is to promote a safe, healthy and substance abuse free environment that supports positive youth, family and community development and this grant will be of great assistance in achieving that goal.”Lynn Communities that Care is a group of community members, public officials, providers and parents formed five years ago in response to a rise in substance abuse among area youth. Its goal: promote positive youth, family and community development.In addition to these initiatives, the Lynn CTC has also successfully implemented the CASASTART program, which provides individual counseling to at-risk youth; created a Lynn Resource Guide and action plan to address drug prevention approaches; and launched a successful youth branch of the coalition. The youth group, named Part of the Solution, participates in a youth advisory council that plans safe activities for teens and keeps young adults active in their community.”The members of the Part of the Solution youth council are really what the Coalition is all about,” said Catherine Dhingra, coordinator of prevention programs for Girls Inc. “These are students that volunteer their time and energy to help their fellow classmates and friends find positive and safe activities and have taken a leadership role among their peers to say that it’s cool to say no to drugs and alcohol.”The nationwide Drug Free Communities program provides grants to community organizations that facilitate citizen participation in local drug prevention efforts. The 199 new grantees were selected from 419 applicants through a competitive peer review process.To qualify for matching grants, all awardees must have at least a six-month history of working together on substance abuse reduction initiatives, have representation from 12 specific sectors of the community, develop a long-term plan to reduce substance abuse and participate in a national evaluation of the DFC program.Communities that Care holds its next coalition meeting on Sept. 24 at the Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development office, 10 Church St. New members are welcome.For more information about the Lynn CTC, contact Wendy Kent at Project Cope, 781-581-9270 or Catherine Dhingra at Girls Inc., 781-592-9744.