Vashon Island receives federal anti-drug grant
Sawyer Auer
Ever since the 2006 Healthy Youth Survey, parents on Vashon have grown more and more worried about the issue of drug use on our Island. With results showing 60% of 12th graders at VHS admitting to alcohol use within a 30-day period compared to 41% statewide, parents, community members, and students have taken it upon themselves to do something about it. Last year a federal grant proposal was written in hopes of changing some of the factors that are thought to contribute to the high rates of substance abuse.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grant or other wise known as the SAMSHA grant focus on changing factors in a community that exacerbate problems with substance abuse or mental health issues. Ginger Nocera is project coordinator of the grant.
“[We will be] Working on the prevention side, so changing policies and large level change over a long period of time,” She said.
Nocera actually gave a good acronym for what the grant is meant to be tackling, ATOD which stands for Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs. The grant is going to be with our community for between five and ten years. Nocera stated that it is a very confusing process that all depends on whether or not the right steps are followed.
VHCN or the Vashon Healthy Community Network is the networking agency that will be dealing with implementing the goals of the grant. VHCN is made up of committees that will be making decisions on what to do with the federal grant money, and are looking for students and youth to be involved n this decision making process. Youth are supposed to be a huge part of this process of the SAMSHA grant. “[It will be a] community wide effort so the network (VHCN) has many sectors represented but we need more people involved so were continually recruiting so we are looking for young people to really connect and give perspective on the work that were doing.”.
