Staff report
news@wbcowqel.com

Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich announced Monday that 19 counties, including Crawford County, received a combined total of $1.5 million to help boost school-based alcohol and drug prevention programs. The Building Youth Resiliency grants are part of Ohio’s new youth drug prevention initiative, Start Talking!

Marion-Crawford Prevention Programs was awarded $51,495 and is expected to serve 315 youths. The project will provide youth-led prevention programming and asset development for students as well as education for the community on how to build developmental assets in the youth. Prevention programming will also be expanded under the project for students in grades 6-9 in the Crestline Exempted Village School District and the Ridgedale Local School District.

Programs such as Parents360 Rx and a registration drive that engages parents and teachers in the KNOW! Program will also be provided in the districts.

Community Counseling Services and the Marion Area Counseling Center will work with students on Actively Caring for People, an evidence-based program that focuses on building positive, safe school environments that promote resiliency and positive, drug-free choices.

“We applaud these communities for their commitment and collaborative approach to building youth resiliency—with the goal of reducing substance use and abuse and encouraging a healthy start for the young people of Ohio,” Lady Kasich said in a press release. “Nurturing resilience and encouraging good behavioral health is essential to enhancing a young person’s ability to resist substance use, abuse and addiction.”

The grants were awarded to a wide variety of counties across the state. Neighboring Huron County received a grant in the amount of $7,337 for Norwalk Parks and Recreation, which will be partnering with Huron County Public Health and Norwalk Public Schools to provide a training site for the LifeSkills Training program.

The grantees were selected on a competitive basis out of a pool of 38 proposals. Applicants had to partner with schools where at least 40 percent of the student population qualified for free and reduced lunches. The programs are required to be implemented by September 2014.

A map of the distribution of grants can be found at http://governor.ohio.gov/Portals/0/Resiliency_Grant_Map.pdf and an overview of the grant recipients can be found at http://governor.ohio.gov/Portals/0/Resiliency_Grant_Winners.pdf.