Mason County Public Health and the North Mason Substance Abuse Coalition have recently been awarded a Department of Behavioral Health and Recovery ( DBHR) grant designed to help communities implement substance abuse prevention and evaluate their impact. Mason County was awarded $ 100, 000 for year one and $ 110, 000 for year two to strengthen and implement prevention programming in the North Mason area. A
similar project has been funded in the Shelton school district for the past 3 years.
A coalition was established in North Mason and has been meeting since April 2017 in anticipation of application for the funding. The grant is focused on prevention and goals include understanding factors that contribute to youth alcohol and other substance use, decreasing alcohol, marijuana, opiate and e- cigarette use or reduce initiation of a young
person’ s first use and to engage the community in working together to make a significant change.
The coalition name, Prevention Education Partners Coalition, is meant to empower every member of the community to take ownership of their community’ s future. The first step in this process is to understand the problem so that data- driven decisions can be made. The coalition is asking for your help by taking the time to share your voice and providing input. They are seeking members to assist with the first goal of working on a plan that will evaluate needs and complete a gap analysis through a strategic planning process.
The grant will also be funding parenting projects and a Peer2Peer school- based prevention education program in this first year.
They are looking for your help and feedback with this process and would like to invite those interested to attend the coalition meetings which meet the third Thursday of each month from 4- 5: 30 PM at North Mason High School. For more information contact Ben Johnson, Coalition Coordinator, Mason county Public Health at 360- 427- 9670 x545.