In the years to come, we’ll have a better idea of how impactful and successful local efforts were to curb and prevent substance abuse in the Bartholomew County community.
One thing is for sure, though. It won’t be for lack of trying.
The Project Prevent grant program is another example of how the community has embraced the need to take action. Through it, more than 20 local agencies or groups have received more than $450,000 in funding for programs to address the varying complexities of substance abuse, which has become a significant problem locally.
Project Prevent was made possible by a matching grant opportunity provided by Columbus residents Mark and Wendy Elwood. Inspired by the work of the Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress, which features a collaborative effort by Bartholomew County’s law enforcement, judicial system, drug counselors and others, they offered in October 2017 to match up to $500,000 toward substance abuse prevention efforts if the community raised $500,000 by March 31, 2018. The challenge was met before the deadline.
Now, the money is being put to good use with the local programming. Grants have ranged in size from a $500 to several thousand dollars to more than $125,000. The two largest have been to Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. ($125,600) and Foundation For Youth ($49,300).
Some of the Bartholomew Consolidated programming with the funds, for example, focuses on self-esteem (healthy outlook means better choices), dealing with emotions and family nights to deal with family stress.
It’s heartening to see the breadth of organizations trying to make a difference, and new substance abuse prevention efforts receive a boost as part of the overall community effort to curb addiction.
Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
