FARMINGTON — MaineHealth’s Healthy Community Coalition in Farmington has been selected to receive a five-year $625,000 federal grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy under the Drug-Free Communities support program.

The program, managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, represents an opportunity to strengthen ongoing efforts in preventing youth substance use in the community.

Key focuses of the grant include:

• Establishing a community coalition in Regional School Unit 73 to guide the grant’s implementation and build community capacity around substance use prevention.

• Increasing community knowledge and communication about youth substance use and local prevention efforts.

• Reducing youth substance use among middle and high school students in RSU 73 through evidence-based programs and practices.

The Drug-Free Communities support program is the nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent and reduce substance use among youth. It 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 the grant, the Healthy Community Coalition will be able to continue building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

“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 (Drug-Free Communities)-funded coalitions are capable of achieving when implementing evidence-based prevention strategies at the local level.” said Helen Hernandez, administrator of the Drug-Free Communities program.

Through the program, the CDC is empowering community coalitions to implement local solutions to unique, local conditions, with the common goal of preventing youth substance use,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, MPH, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at CDC.

The Health Community Coalition is grateful for the support of and partnership with the Office of National Drug Control Policy and CDC, said LeeAnna Lavoie, Health Community Coalition executive director.

“We are proud to share this mission and effort to prevent youth substance use and protect the well-being of our community,” she said. “Furthermore, this grant will allow us to better collaborate with our partners, including area youth sports, Jay Police Department, Maine CDC, Spruce Mt. Adult Education, MaineHealth Franklin Hospital, and Tri Valley United Way, among others. By focusing our collective expertise and resources on this critical issue, we will ensure a positive impact on our youth and community,” she said.

RSU 73 Superintendent Scott Albert said he’s looking forward to working together on a serious issue that affects a great deal of people in our community.

Over five years, the consortium aims to achieve short-term outcomes such as increased capacity in addressing youth substance use and improved parent knowledge. Intermediate outcomes include improved school climate and decreased youth access to substances, while long-term goals involve reducing rates of binge drinking, cannabis use, and vaping among youth, as well as decreasing substance use among adults.