©2011 Galesburg Broadcasting Co.
| City Applies for Federal Drug Prevention Grant |
The City of Galesburg and a local agency are hopeful for some federal help in order to continue to focus on one aspect of the local drug problem.
The City and the Knox County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition have applied to the Office of National Drug Control Policy for a grant of $125,000 a year for five-years that will help fund substance abuse prevention efforts in the county.
The City Council has approved the city acting as the fiscal agent for the grant.
Sixth Ward Alderman Wayne Allen is a coalition member, and says getting a fiscal agent was the most difficult part of the process.
"As we put this in place, we had some fiscal agent applications," Allen said. "But, for whatever the reasons, they didn't meet the guidelines. And also, as we sent these out, some people didn't even reply back."
Allen says that's when Mayor Sal Garza intervened and offered the city's help in being the fiscal agent, which eventually worked.
Coalition member Tina Gummerson says the grant will help essentially make existing programs related to drug abuse prevention even stronger.
"The focus of the 'Drug-Free Communities' grant is to encourage collaborations that already exist, including with the City of Galesburg, the Galesburg Police Department," Gummerson said. "...There are a lot of different agencies involved, from the Health Department to the (University of Illinosi) Extension Office, to parents, who are very involved with this coalition."
Gummerson says surveys done every two years in the county's schools seem to indicate that incidences of alcohol or drug use are starting to increase despite declines elsewhere in the state, and that the extra money will help in those prevention efforts.
The city says the coalition would hire a grant coordinator with part of the money if successful, which also would be housed at city hall. |
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| 02 13 10 by Newsroom |
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