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Health department’s drug-free program receives grant
OUR REGION
MUHLENBERG
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Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022 33
Health department’s drug-free program receives grant
BY FREDDIE BOURNE
MESSENGER-INQUIRER
In July, it was announced that the Muhlenberg County Health Department in Central City will receive $125,000 for its Champions for a Drug-Free Muhlenberg County program, according to a news release from U.S. Sen Mitch McConnell’s office.
The funding is through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), which will provide nearly $2.5 million through the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) program to 20 programs throughout Kentucky.
The DFC program awards grants to organizations that fight substance abuse among young people to help combat the drug abuse epidemic through prevention, treatment and interdiction.
The mission of the Champions for a Drug-Free Muhlenberg County is to reduce substance use among youth by collaborating with community partners to create environmental change.
Vicki Yonts, co-director of Champions alongside Cathy Bethel, director of the county health department, said Champions has been around for some time and has been supported in recent years by the Felix E. Martin Jr. Foundation, where Yonts serves as the director of the foundation’s early childhood education program — SOAR.
Yonts said it was their third attempt to get the grant and they’ve been making additional strides to strengthen the program, such as hiring Molly Fauver as DFC project coordinator.
“We are very pleased,” Yonts said. “I think we are in our second year of working with the DFC.”
Yonts said the program meets every month with concerns from citizens discussed by an 80-person coalition made up of parents, law officials, school administrators, healthcare workers and more.
The program has seemed to make an impact, Yonts said.
“We do know, and research has shown us, that the more that you make people aware (and) understand the dangers, the less they’ll use it; and it does work,” she said. “We’re seeing that with tobacco use. They’ve been talking about smoking for how many years now, and we are finally seeing a decrease in some young people (using it).”
Topics that the program chooses to focus on stem from the Kentucky Incentive for Prevention (KIP) survey, which is the state’s largest source of data related to youth use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, along with mental health and safety.
Yonts said they survey eighth, 10th and 12th graders every two years to see where they compare to the region and the commonwealth.
There’s also a group of high school students, Champions Youth Agents (CYAs), which assist with discussing drug prevention with their peers — which Yonts said is the “No. 1 target.” This includes awareness and education about the dangers of vaping, smoking, marijuana, methamphetamine and underage drinking. The CYAs have an opportunity to be trained on certain topics, with training offered by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) to help share what they learned.
“These (CYAs) help us send the message in the schools,” Yonts said. “We do signage, billboards, …magnets; but then we also will bring speakers into the schools to speak about the drug problems and what’s going on.”
One of the main areas of conversation is recovery, which Yonts feels has experienced a recent movement in the county “unlike seen before,” especially with the recent opening of facilities such as TrueNorth Treatment Center in Central City.
Yonts said recovery is something they want to acknowledge in a positive manner.
“I think that Champions for a Drug-Free Muhlenberg County has empowered recovered addicts by letting them tell their stories,” she said. “...They came back from something that could have very well (taken) their life; and that’s something to celebrate.”
Yonts said that having former addicts share their personal experiences help people understand a more accurate portrayal of the struggles one endures.
“It gives hope that you can recover,” she said. “And not only are they saying that you can recover but (also guidance on) how you can recover.”
Regarding the future of Champions and use for the grant, Yonts looks to push ahead with continuing with curriculum-based programs in the schools, along with hopes of holding assemblies and working on initiatives with the CYAs while also educating families and parents.
“We will be in the school systems because the Drug Free Community grant is aimed to 12 to 18 year olds …,” she said. “We’ll be working with these students every way that we possibly can to make them aware of what’s out there … and educate (them) as much as possible.”
For more information, visit facebook.com/ChampionsforaDrugFreeMuhlenbergCounty.
