Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
After years of applying, the Parker Area Alliance for Community Empowerment (PAACE) has been awarded the White House’s 5-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant.
The DFC program was instituted by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1997 with the aim of providing funding to community-based coalitions that organize to prevent youth substance use. The philosophy behind the program is that local drug problems require local solutions. Data shows that the funding is effective, with lower rates of youth substance use in places where DFC dollars have been invested.
This year, 197 new DFC grants were awarded nationwide, with PAACE in Parker being one of those awarded the grants. DFC is highly competitive, with hundreds of coalitions vying for funding in places like Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago.
PAACE says it will be putting the money to good use, beginning this week. The organization will be hiring a Prevention Specialist to join their team for program-specific tasks and working with young people.
The PAACE Coalition includes many area partners, government offices, law enforcement agencies, organizations, media outlets and officials and is achieving acclaim at the state level for mobilizing to tackle substance abuse and other youth-related issues.
Thats awesome!!!
So what does that mean for the children of Park?!?!?
First off it means we are able to hire another staff person here at PAACE (located in Players 9th Street Youth Center) who will be able to work the PAL Program, plan events and help with the daily operations of the Youth Center. This also means more money to help tackle substance abuse issues for our youth, namely underage drinking and prescription medication abuse. It is a 5 year grant so this year a lot of the money is going towards training the PAACE Coalition members on curriculum specific to substance abuse. We can then better equip parents and youth on how to deal with these issues. You can see some of the work we do at http://www.paace.org or stop by the youth center!
Thanks 😀
How come we are not talking about the bluewater bitd race. It’s not even on the bluewater sign?
Congratulations P.A.A.C.E.! This is great news for the Parker community!