Community Anti-Drug Coalitions in Knight Communities

Long Beach/South Bay Substance Abuse Coalition
Long Beach, California

Location: One of the largest container ports in the world, Long Beach is also home to a major manufacturing plant of Boeing Corporation.  The city has successfully attracted capital investments in recent years to reinvigorate the downtown area.

Population of target area: 430,905

Date Established: 1972

Purpose: To minimize the negative effects of substance abuse in the Long Beach area.

Structure: Formed 30 years with a focus on treatment, the Long Beach Coalition on Alcohol and Substance Abuse (LBCASA) established the principal treatment facilities in the city.  In 1997,  LBCASA merged with the South Bay Substance Abuse Coalition in order to pool resources and prevent overlap of services.  The merged coalition has a Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary and is the process of incorporating, forming a board of directors and developing a strategic plan.

Primary Activities: The 108-member coalition retains a strong treatment focus, although it now addresses tobacco use, underage liquor sales, alcohol and tobacco advertising, and mental health issues as well the de-stigmatization of alcoholism and drug addiction.  The coalition has reduced the number of liquor stores in south Long Beach, promoted drug-free school activities and opened social service agencies in underserved areas.

Funding:    Membership dues.

Contact:     Michael St. James     562/570-4100     

The Miami Coalition for a Drug Free Community
Miami, Florida

Location: Miami, the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country, serves as the conduit for much of the air and sea traffic to and from the Caribbean and South America.  It has been designated one of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas by the Federal government.

Population of target area: 2,253,362

Date Established:   1988

Structure: The coalition has a 125-member board of directors that oversees the overall direction of the organization.  A 25-member executive committee, primarily from the private sector, provides more specific guidance and meets on a monthly basis.  Six subcommittees, representing various sectors such as law enforcement and the faith community, meet bimonthly to plan and coordinate activities.  A paid staff of four coordinates a wide range of activities conducted by the coalition.

Primary Activities:   Works with the Partnership For a Drug Free America to disseminate its anti-drug media campaign; assists schools and community groups in implementing science-based drug prevention programs; maintains a drug abuse toxicology network to provide prevention specialists and parents with updates on drug abuse trends; works to increase the availability of treatment for youth; serves as a community facilitator through which programs and activities are coordinated and implemented; and assists community programs in developing evaluation plans along with evaluating its own progress.

Funding:   Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, county and city government, private foundations, individual donors.

Contact:   Marilyn Wagner Culp     305/284-6848                               

The Columbus Children, Youth and Family Coalition
Columbus, Georgia

Location:   A large  town adjacent to Fort Benning Army Base, whose business community has grown significantly in the last 12 years with over a billion dollars in investments and the creation of 12,000 new jobs.

Population of target area: 186,291

Date Established:   1997

Purpose:   To reduce teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect.

Primary Activities: Monitors grants from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to ensure that financial support goes to activities which reduce child abuse, neglect and teenage pregnancy. Coordinates programs such as the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program in local hospitals, conducts workshops for day care workers to help them identify abuse and neglect cases and offers a weekend camp to teach infant care to girls from low-income neighborhoods.  Addresses substance abuse issues as they arise.

Funding:   State government, and in-kind support from coalition members and local government.

Contact:    Junie Christian     706/653-4558    

Governor’s Commission for a Drug Free Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana

Location: A mid-sized city in northeastern Indiana where agriculture is the dominant industry.  The recent relocation of 3M headquarters from Fort Wayne to the east coast has damaged the local economy and disrupted the lives of many families in the community.

Population of target area: 870,895

Date Established:    1989

Purpose:   To provide training and technical assistance to 15 county anti-drug coalitions

Structure:   The statewide Governor’s Commission for a Drug Free Indiana is implemented out of six Regional Coordinating Offices.  Each regional office is governed by a 30-member advisory panel comprised of two elected representatives from each of the fifteen counties in each region.  A Regional Coordinating Office, such as in Fort Wayne, typically has 3 to 5 paid staff members who provide technical assistance and help foster the development of local coalitions at the county level.

Primary Activities: The Fort Wayne Regional Office provides training, technical assistance and funding for all volunteer community groups in 15 counties.  Organizes conferences and workshops on a wide range of topics.  Promotes and reinforces Indiana’s seatbelt law through a grant from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.  Hosted Indiana’s first conference on underage drinking with support from Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Funding:   County DUI fees and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration.

Contact: Aveda La Rue     219/427-1117

The Project Freedom and Family Coalition
Wichita, Kansas  (reorganized as Wichita ACTS Against Truancy)

Location:   In Wichita, Kansas’s largest city, the majority of the work labor force hold white collar jobs.  The aviation industry is a major employer.

Population of target area: 452,869

Date Established:   1989 (reorganized in 1999)

Purpose: Originally created to mobilize the community to tackle social problems and to reduce substance use,  the coalition has since evolved to address truancy and community violence.

Structure:   A board of directors, elected by members, is comprised of 20-25 individuals from social service agencies, educational institutions and government.  The board holds an annual retreat to discuss activities and future goals.  It also refines its strategic plan which must be approved by the wider membership.  The President of the board and the paid Executive Director of the coalition represent the organization in public forums.

Primary Activities:     The Project Freedom and Family Coalition supported a wide range of activities including town meetings on substance abuse, community policing, weed and seed programs, neighborhood cleanups and youth prevention programs.  The coalition, with support from The Pizza Hut Corporation, annually for five years, attracted over 7,000 youth to the downtown civic center to eat free pizza, play games and hear anti-drug messages.  In 1999, Project Freedom determined that it had achieved its goals and reorganized to form Wichita ACTS Against Truancy which focuses on community organizing and community policing activities.

Funding: Federal, state, county and city government, private foundations and individual donors.

Contact:   Jaime Lopez     316/685-6300

Lexington/Fayette Champions for a Drug Free Community
Lexington, Kentucky  (merged in 2000 to become the Mayor’s Alliance on Substance Abuse)

Location:   Surrounded by picturesque horse farms and rolling tobacco fields, Lexington, the largest city in eastern Kentucky, is home of the University of Kentucky as well as Toyota and Lexmark International.

Population of target area: 260,512

Purpose:   To reduce youth access to alcohol and to increase community awareness of the problems associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.

Structure:    A five-member executive committee, which includes the two co-chairs of the coalition, selects activities and develops a working budget. The Bluegrass Prevention Center, a regional office for the statewide Champions for a Drug Free Community, retains control of funding and administrative duties for the coalition.  In 2000, the coalition merged with another local anti-drug coalition to form the Mayor’s Alliance on Substance Abuse.

Primary Activities:   Provides drug prevention training for parents at workplaces through a power point presentation on the symptoms of substance abuse, sponsors drug free activities for youths and conducts a Parent Alert Program through which parents are notified if their underage teen attempts to buy alcohol.

Funding:   State and local government and individual donations.

Contact:   Donna Wiesenhahn     859/231-6609

Madison County Partnership
Richmond, Kentucky

Location:    A rapidly growing satellite city of Lexington, Richmond is situated in a largely rural area that in the past was known for moon-shining and where tobacco accounts for 60 percent of all agricultural products.

Population of target area: 70,872

Date Established: 1990

Purpose: To bring together diverse groups and resources to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.

Primary Activities:   Coordinates substance abuse and tobacco prevention curriculum for the county; develops alternative activities for youth; organizes awareness campaigns with local schools, churches and the Madison County Department of Health; works with University of Kentucky researchers to conduct needs assessments, to collect data and to measure outcomes; and implements initiatives to change community norms in order to lower underage and high-risk drinking.

Funding:   Drug Free Communities, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Champions for a Drug Free Community, and in-kind services from Bluegrass Prevention Center and various local community organizations.

Contact:   Laura Nagel     859/624-3622

Charlotte Mecklenburg Drug and Alcohol Fighting Back
Charlotte, North Carolina

Location: The largest city in the Carolinas, Charlotte is experiencing an economic surge and has become a hub of health care services and banking activity.

Population of target area: 695,454

Date Established:   1991

Purpose:   To reduce drug use and related crime in the neighborhoods in the city’s District 2 as well as to increase the number of citizen-based organizations there.

Structure:   This Fighting Back coalition is composed of grassroots organizers from over 50 neighborhoods in District 2, social service providers and members of the faith community.  It has formed a partnership with the county government of Mecklenburg, which provides fiscal oversight of coalition expenditures and contracts with the coalition to provide prevention services.  Leadership and direction are shared jointly by a committee of representatives from the coalition and the county government.

Funding:   The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, state and local government.

Contact:  Hattie Anthony     704/336-4634

CARE Partnership of the Centre County Region
State College, Pennsylvania

Location:   Ranked by Money magazine in 1998 as the fifth best place to live among northeast small cities, State College is home to Pennsylvania State University.  Technology and agriculture are major industries in this rural north central section of the state.

Population of target area: 77,500

Date Established:   1999

Purpose:   To coordinate prevention activities in Centre County.

Structure:   A prevention board comprised of coalition members is governed by a six-member group of community leaders.  The prevention board is divided into three subcommittees: family, schools, and community.  These groups are charged with planning and coordinating programs relevant to their focus.  A part-time community organizer, the sole paid staff, oversees the day-to-day operations and the administrative tasks of the coalition.

Primary Activities: Still in its planning phase, the coalition has been inviting key community leaders and organizations to join the coalition as well as collecting substance abuse indicator data.  The initial core members adopted the Communities That Care model.  This program, supported by the Governor’s Community Partnership for Safe Children, is a step-by-step process on how to form, implement and evaluate a community coalition.

Funding:   State grant

Contact: Claudia Hutchenson     814/861-7424

University Park Campus Community Partnership
State College, Pennsylvania

Population of target area: 41,000

Date Established: 1998

Purpose:   To reduce underage and binge drinking among Penn State students.

Structure: The University Park Campus Partnership (UPCP) is a joint initiative of Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.  It is led by two co-chairs—one from the community and one from the university—and has established a revolving leadership which changes every year or two.  Members include university leaders and representatives of local government, police and human service agencies as well as tavern owners.

Primary Activities:   The coalition has created a strategic plan and identified various data sources including a survey of students’ drinking behavior conducted biannually by the university in order to evaluate its impact.  UPCP also established a subcommittee to address the standardization of alcohol enforcement and asked local District Judges to participate.  The judges were instrumental in mobilizing surrounding jurisdictions to enforce underage drinking laws uniformly.

Funding:   Pennsylvania State University and the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board

Contact:    Susan Kennedy     814/863-0461

The Lexington Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council Fighting Back Program, Columbia, South Carolina

Location:   Lexington and Richland Counties are suburbs of the state capitol, Columbia.  The wealthier suburbs are found in Lexington County.  The University of South Carolina and Fort Jackson, one of the largest U.S. army bases, are located in Richland County. 

Population of target area: 536,691

Date Established:   1990

Purpose:   To reduce drug use among teens and adults.

Primary Activities:   Initially, the coalition focused on creating neighborhood coalitions that would help decrease access to alcohol and tobacco; establish community norms that would discourage use of these substances; and increase public awareness of the detrimental effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use.  With reduced funding and staff, the coalition now focuses mainly on programs that help youngsters make the transition from middle to high school and on to college and youth prevention programs.

Funding:   The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, state and local government.

Contact:   Debee Early     803/733-1390 ext. 136

Aberdeen Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council
Aberdeen, South Dakota

Location: Aberdeen is the third largest city in South Dakota.  St. Luke’s Medical Center and 3M are the chief employers; local government is seeking to attract other industries to ensure future economic growth.

Population of target area: 35,460

Date Established:   1988

Purpose: To unite sectors of the community against the use of alcohol and other drugs.

Structure:   Membership in the coalition requires registration and attendance at two previous meetings, which entitles an individual or organization to vote on upcoming initiatives and the overall direction of the coalition.  Meetings are held once a month throughout the winter, with a break during summer months.  The Mayor represents the coalition at  public forums.  Administrative tasks, including secretarial and budgeting duties, are carried out by the office of the Mayor.

Primary Activities:   Provides grants to local groups to support a wide range of prevention activities including a campaign against inhalant abuse, drug-free post-prom activities, and efforts to curb juvenile delinquency and to prevent violence.  Grants have been awarded  to Students Against Drunk Driving and the Healthy Kids-Healthy Communities Program, among others.

Contact:    Cathy Feickert, Aberdeen City Mayor’s Office     605/626-7025