In full transparency, then following is a press release from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) today, April 20, announced $3.8 million in annual grants to 31 youth substance use prevention programs serving communities across the Commonwealth.
This is the third Massachusetts Collaborative for Action, Leadership, and Learning (MassCALL3) award under the Substance Misuse Prevention Grant Programs.
The grants will be distributed over eight years to support local substance use prevention efforts in communities across the Commonwealth.
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The program outlines three goals:
- Community engagement and capacity building: To be deployed for communities with limited or no existing capacity and infrastructure to implement a systematic public health planning process and a comprehensive set of evidence-based prevention programs, policies, and practices to prevent youth substance misuse.
- Comprehensive strategy implementation: Communities with existing prevention program capacity and experience will receive additional support to implement a comprehensive set of prevention services directed at youth and focused on substances of first use, such as alcohol, nicotine, and cannabis.
- Innovation and promising practices implementation: Communities that have already implemented a detailed substance misuse plan or adapted an existing approach that has not been formally described in prevention literature will receive expert assistance in examining and disseminating new and emerging practices that have the potential to fill gaps in current prevention scientific evidence.
“The Commonwealth continues to invest in and support evidence-based initiatives that address the very serious issue of substance use among our young people,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These awards build on the Administration’s commitment to expand pathways to substance use prevention programs at all levels in every area of the state.”
“Boosting the Commonwealth’s substance use prevention and treatment system infrastructure and capacity has been a top priority for us,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “It is essential that these important programs be accessible to families and vulnerable young people.”
“With these awards we are ensuring that substance use prevention programs expand across communities for youth outreach especially amid unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders. “Supporting these programs is crucial to our goal of preventing high-risk outcomes for youth struggling with substance use, including school drop-out, criminal justice involvement, or death.”
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“Substance Misuse Prevention grants have supported local initiatives, including those aimed at decreasing underage drinking and opioid-related overdoses, in an ongoing effort to ensure necessary services are provided to at-risk populations,” said Deputy Commissioner Margret Cooke. “These grant resource investments encourage sustainable community-led models and innovative approaches aimed at substance use prevention.”
Wayside Youth and & Family Support Network, based in Framingham, but serving MetroWest, will receive $125,000 annually.
The grant award begins in FY22 and continues through FY29.
The program is funded through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant.
“We are working to build capacity and deepen the bench of substance use prevention resources in local communities,” said Deirdre Calvert, Director of DPH’s Bureau of Substance Addiction Services. “Massachusetts’ communities are centers of the innovation, passion, and ingenuity we need to boost in order to educate and protect our youth from substance use.”
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Award recipients are:
- Barnstable County Department of Human Services
- Bay State Community Services Inc. (Quincy, Braintree, Milton, Randolph and Weymouth)
- Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
- Boston Public Health Commission
- City of Brockton
- City of Chelsea
- City of Fall River
- City of Fitchburg
- City of Gloucester
- City of Lowell
- City of Lynn
- City of Medford
- City of Newburyport
- City of Peabody (Peabody Police Department)
- City of Springfield
- City of Somerville
- City of Worcester
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- Collaborative for Educational Services (Amherst, Northampton, Easthampton, South Hadley, and Hadley)
- Family Services of the Merrimack Valley
- Franklin Regional Council of Governments
- High Point Treatment Center (Carver, Middleboro, Plymouth, and Wareham)
- Hopkinton Youth and Family Services – Town of Hopkinton
- Martha’s Vineyard
- Northern Berkshire Community Coalition
- Project R.I.G.H.T., Inc. (Boston)
- Quabbin Drug Response Unifying Group (Barre, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Braintree, and Oakham)
- Railroad Street Youth Project (Great Barrington, Stockbridge, Egremont, and Sheffield)
- SSTAR (Taunton, Attleboro, Mansfield, and Norton)
- Town of Hudson
- Town of Stoughton
- Wayside Youth and & Family Support Network (Framingham)
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