Daily Voice - Yorktown Group Receives Aid To Fight Youth Drug Abuse

News Article

By Alesha Hanson

U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Westchester/Rockland, the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, announced that 14 local organizations will receive a total of $1.7 million in federal grants for youth anti-substance abuse initiatives through the Office of National Drug Control Policy's Drug-Free Communities Program.

"Our children deserve the opportunity to grow, learn and thrive in communities free of harmful substances," said Lowey. "These Drug Free Communities grants will help prevent youth drug and alcohol abuse and, as ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue fighting to ensure this important program receives the federal funding it deserves."

In New York's 17th Congressional District, 14 local entities awarded grants include:

-Alliance for Safe Kids (ASK) in Yorktown Heights ($125,000).
-Blind Brook Community Coalition ($125,000).
-City of Peekskill Youth Bureau ($125,000).
-City of White Plains ($125,000).
-Cortlandt Community Coalition ($125,000).
-Croton Community Coalition ($125,000).
-Irvington Community Advisory Board ($125,000).
-Mount Kisco Drug & Alcohol Prevention Council ($125,000).
-OCADA Inc. ($125,000), which serves Central Nyack, Nyack, South Nyack, Upper Grandview, Upper Nyack, and Valley Cottage.
-Ossining Communities That Care ($125,000).
-Port Chester Cares Community Coalition ($125,000).
-South Orangetown Community Awareness of Substance Abuse ($125,000).
-Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youth ($125,000).
-Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youth ($75,000), for a mentoring program for the North Castle Community Coalition.

"These grants provide an essential community approach to preventing youth substance abuse," said Ellen Morehouse, executive director of the Student Assistance Services Corp., which works closely with Westchester community coalitions on planning, implementing and evaluating substance abuse prevention activities.

"With more teens using marijuana and the recent tragedies of opiate overdoses, Congresswoman Lowey's leadership in making critical funding available to address these issues couldn't have come at a more important time."

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