A five-year federal grant that will be administered by Blue Ridge Behavioral Health Care will be used by coalition partners of the Roanoke Prevention Alliance to fight youth substance abuse.
The “Drug Free Community Support Program Grant” from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and SAMSA – the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, are providing the funds.
Ray Bemis, who works for Blue Ridge Behavioral Health Care as a prevention specialist and is director of the Roanoke Prevention Alliance (RPA), said the $625,000 grant will be doled out over that five year stretch, to Alliance partners for their programs aimed at curbing substance abuse in young people. “This is a career goal, I must say,” said Bemis, “we started working towards a goal of getting this grant about 3-4 years ago.”
The same grant was denied when the RPA applied for it last year but Bemis said they “doubled down” and got it this time. “It’s an amazing step for Roanoke City. It takes a generation to change norms in a community. This funding will allow us to do that necessary work so we can have healthy, drug-free youth in Roanoke City.”
Bemis also said the five-year grant is renewable for another five years after that if their application is successful. The federal Drug-Free Communities Support Program was created in 1997 and is the nation’s most visible initiative to prevent youth substance abuse.
Bemis said the Alliance partners will implement what he called “environmental strategies to change community norms.” That could mean educating parents and youth leaders “that will get the message out to other youth about alcohol and marijuana use – as well as other drug use.” Young people have a tendency to listen more closely to their peers than to some adult lecturing them, said Bemis.
Over the life of the loan, Bemis said they plan to implement all seven environmental strategies through RPA partners that include Roanoke City Police, Roanoke City Libraries, Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice, Family Service of Roanoke Valley, Youth of Virginia Speak Out (YOVASO) and more. Another grant received in 2012 helped put the RPA on a path toward this new federal grant, said Bemis.
The earlier money was used to help reduce alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes. “We definitely proved that we can make a difference and our prevention efforts are effective,” said Bemis, who also noted that the RPA has won national awards for its campaigns. “It was laying the groundwork for us to start addressing the problem of youth substance abuse in full force in the community.”
Blue Ridge Behavioral Health Care will act as the fiscal agent; much of the federal grant will be used with what Bemis calls “youth development groups” and young people to get the message out. A focus on media campaign coverage of the youth substance abuse issue – to snacks for community meetings on the other end of the scale – will all be supported by the new grant over the next five years. “We’re very thrilled about this,” said Bemis.
Gene Marrano
