Garrett County Drug-Free Communities Coalition Receives Grant

By Diane Lee, Public Information Officer, Garrett County Health Department

The Garrett County Health Department is currently in the third year of a grant provided to the Garrett County Drug-Free Communities Coalition to prevent youth substance use. The funding is a part of a series of grants distributed across the country that are designed to enhance the efforts of Drug-Free Communities program recipients to prevent opioid, methamphetamine, and prescription drug misuse among youth ages 12-18 across the United States. 

This five-year grant provides $50,000 per year and was awarded from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) through funding from the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act Local Drug Crises grant program. 

“During February, the grant will provide funding to encourage people of all walks of life who need substance use treatment services to ‘Reach Out Now.’” said Sandy Miller, Director of the Substance Abuse Prevention Unit at the Garrett County Health Department and Project Director for the grant. “A campaign promoting treatment and recovery services is taking place and will hopefully reach people where they are to help with all types of addictions. Making resources and services readily available and easy to access makes the process of seeking help go much more smoothly.”

The theme for the February campaign is, ‘The Path from Addiction to Recovery is a Journey.’  Through countywide messaging it is hoped that people will make that first step down the recovery path. The Garrett County Community Health Outreach Team will be in communities throughout the county promoting treatment and recovery services. 

To receive information or resources to share at a worksite, church, business, or organization, or for more information about this grant call the Garrett County Health Department at 301-334-7730 or 301-895-3111. 

The grant program is a partnership between ONDCP and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It aims to reduce youth substance use by providing funding to local coalitions to help them apply evidence-based prevention strategies to the emerging challenges in their communities.