Hassan, Shaheen Applaud $1.25 Million in Grants to Address Youth Substance Abuse in New Hampshire

CONCORD – Governor Maggie Hassan and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen today applauded the announcement of $1.25 Million in federal funding for New Hampshire youth substance abuse prevention programs. The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program run by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will distribute ten grants of $125,000 to programs across the state.

"The substance abuse crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing our state, and education, awareness and prevention efforts are critical to combating it, especially for our young people," Governor Hassan said. "By supporting effective, local youth prevention programs, the Drug-Free Communities Support program will strengthen our efforts to ensure the health and safety of our young people, and I thank Senator Shaheen for her support of this important program. Moving forward, we will continue to work with stakeholders at all levels, every single day, to build on our ongoing efforts to combat the substance abuse crisis facing our state."

“Prevention is one of the key fronts in New Hampshire’s fight against drug abuse,” said Shaheen. “Far too many young people in our state are falling victim to drugs that can ruin their lives. These funds will be put to good use by New Hampshire programs that are effective at steering Granite State youth away from drugs. As our communities continue to grapple with a heroin and substance abuse epidemic, I will continue to push for more resources to help protect New Hampshire families from drug abuse.”

Senator Shaheen used her position on the Senate Appropriations Committee to push for more DFC funding for New Hampshire.

Of the ten New Hampshire grants, four are first-time awards. Those New grants include: Somersworth Prevention Coalition; Raymond Coalition for Youth; We’ve Got Your Back Coalition, which serves Winchester; and Franklin Mayor’s Drug and Alcohol Abuse Task Force, which serves Franklin and Hill.

Continuing grants in New Hampshire were awarded to: Merrimack Safeguard; Bridging the Gaps-Rochester Community Coalition for Alcohol and Drug Prevention; Southern Rockingham Coalition of Youth Prevention of Marijuana and Prescription Drug Abuse project; All Together of Lebanon; Monadnock Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coalition of Keene; and Nashua Prevention Coalition.

Recognizing that local partnerships are critical to tackling substance abuse, the DFC Support Program is the federal government’s flagship effort to support communities in preventing youth substance use. The DFC Support Program is a matching federal grant where each community provides a minimum of one-to-one match in local funding.