Ashland’s Decisions at Every Turn Receives Grant to Prevent Youth Substance Abuse

Ashland’s Decisions at Every Turn (DAET) Coalition received a five-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant in September to prevent youth substance use, including prescription drugs, alcohol, marijuana and nicotine products.
The five-year grant is for $125,000 each year, or a total of $625,000. This is the second five-year grant DAET has received.
“Receiving a consecutive five years of DFC grant funding, for a total of 10 years of funding, is truly a testament to the entire Ashland community,” Kristin French, Director of Prevention Outreach, said.
“Since 2013, when DAET was awarded its first DFC grant, Ashland has seen a reduction in many measures of youth substance use and a positive shift of community norms towards supporting prevention strategies to help Ashland teens make healthy choices and remain substance-free. Everything we have accomplished in the past five years was made possible through the collaborative efforts of coalition members, community partners and the commitment of Ashland’s town officials to primary prevention,” French said.
With continued funding, DAET will develop new community partnerships, offer educational programming, create K-12 prevention materials, enhance the capacity of its membership through training and education, advocate for environmental prevention strategies, and increase community involvement with DAET’s prevention efforts.
Prescription drug abuse prevention is one of the core measures of effectiveness for local DFC coalitions, and coalitions nationwide have led innovative opioid prevention initiatives. DFC’s 2017 National Evaluation End-of-Year report found that at least 97 percent of middle school students and 94 percent of high school students report that they have not misused prescription drugs in the past 30-days in DFC communities.
The DFC program, created by the DFC Act of 1997 is the Nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use and is directed by the Office of the National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Grants are provided to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.
For more information on resources available in Ashland, visit the DAET website, www.ashlanddecisions.org, or contact coalitioninfo@ashlanddecisions.org or 508-881-0177 x8284.