Bartholomew County's fight against substance abuse by youths gets boost
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COLUMBUS, Ind. — Bartholomew County is getting a $328,000 boost in its efforts to prevent substance abuse by youths.
Two grants totaling that amount were awarded by the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addiction to two local agencies, Eastside Community Center and Foundation for Youth, to assist in the fight against a significant problem in Bartholomew County.
A 2011 report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse that said teen substance abuse is the nation's No. 1 public health problem. The report said that 90 percent of Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction began smoking, drinking or using other drugs before age 18.
According to a 2009 survey by the Indiana Prevention Resource Council, Bartholomew County's seventh- and eighth-graders were using tobacco, alcohol and marijuana at rates greater than state averages for those grades.
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