If volunteers and staff at the Warren Prevention Coalition needed a reminder that the work they do is valued among the community, they received that validation last month with the announcement they had received a federal grant worth $625,000 to fund the group for the next five years.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy announced in September that the coalition would receive $125,000 each year for five years through the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, which is overseen by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

The grant will assist the coalition in its mission to continue conducting drug prevention work in Warren, specifically focused on keeping kids away from prescription drugs, alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco products.

According to coalition director Ann Marie Roy and program coordinator Maria Ursini, the renewed funding (which took effect Oct. 1) will enable them to continue work that began with their first grant funding between 2018 and 2023. It was a tumultuous time, to say the least, with Covid disrupting normal operations. Despite that, they still managed to achieve the completion of four annual health and wellness surveys in the schools, the most recent of which was recently released in the spring of 2023, and conduct dozens of events highlighting substance use awareness throughout that span.

Ursini said the coalition will continue to focus on primarily alcohol and nicotine use among kids, which are still the main mind-altering substances utilized. But they also will look to expand some programming to members of the community who are at risk of substance abuse, including those of lower income, by helping them access available resources.

Ursini and Roy both said that volunteers for the coalition’s board, and volunteers in general for events and programming, are always in need and appreciated. You can contact them at ARoy@townofwarren-ri.gov or Mursini@townofwarren-ri.gov if interested.