We are very proud to announce that TNP's great work has been recognized with five more years of Drug-Free Communities (DFC) funding from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and CDC! The new grant went into effect on October 1st, 2024 and will support our mission of preventing substance misuse and promoting mental wellness in Norwalk youth and young adults.
This is the second DFC grant applied for and received by Positive Directions on behalf of TNP. By providing $125,000 per year for five years, the grant represents an opportunity to strengthen and sustain the gains we've made during our first five years of federal funding.
The first grant allowed us to bring together community partners, merging different smaller local prevention efforts and relaunching The Norwalk Partnership as our community-wide prevention coalition. TNP has been able to build a multi-sector leadership team and active engagement by many community stakeholders--like all of you! We've fostered collaborative data sharing, planning, and strategy development. Our youth survey data have led to new resources in our schools and communities and have allowed our partner agencies to seek out other grants.
The DFC grant makes so much possible. The grant funds:
our youth and community surveys;
prevention leadership and coordination through dedicated staff time from Positive Directions and access to a local evaluator;
the creation of resources such as the TNP website, behavioral health resource guides and videos, campaigns, and posters;
our youth coalition, now known as TNP Teens (formerly the Norwalk Strong clubs);
initiatives such as Liquor Stickers, Teen Nights Out, and the annual NorWALK for Mental Health event;
our education efforts to provide information, skills, and supports to parents, youth, health teachers, legislators; and others.
In this next phase of funding, TNP plans to grow our outreach, continue to build our work and make it sustainable, and actively seek out and train local leaders to address the needs in our highest-risk communities.
Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), whose office supports DFC-funded communities, left TNP a congratulatory voicemail. He writes, “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."
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.
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