Friday, April 19, 2024
4/19/2024
Colchester is located in eastern Connecticut’s New London County, surrounded by farming and woodland communities. The town has a 2020 population of 16,194 and is 49 square miles. Resident demographics for Colchester include 93% White, 2% African American, 2.5% Asian, 0.3% Native American and 2.2% from other races or mutli-racial. Hispanic or Latino of any race are 2% of the population. The median age is 41 years old. The median household income is just over $100,000 with 5.9% of the population being below the poverty rate. Thirty-eight percent of the adult population have a Bachelor’s degree or higher with an additional 9% having an associate’s degree. Twenty-seven percent have a high school diploma. The Colchester School District currently has 2,321 children enrolled in Pre-K to grade 12, and consists of one preschool and early elementary school, an intermediate elementary school, one middle school and one high school. Of the students in the district, 14% qualify for free or reduced lunch. Colchester’s roots as a farming community has shifted over time, especially when Route 2 was built that provided easy access to Hartford, Connecticut’s capital, now just 30 minutes away. Medium sized businesses such as S&S World-Wide, Incord and Alpha Q and a small business park now have a home-base in Colchester. Residents mostly work in town or in surrounding towns, but an increasing number commute along Route 2 to either Hartford to the northwest or Norwich to southeast just 10 minutes away. Route 2 also brought easier access to drugs along with the increasing number of residents going to cities for work. Colchester youth report that it easy to access alcohol and other drugs, especially marijuana. Colchester is a middle-class community with some wealthier residents moving in and building larger homes. One commonality between the “newcomers” and the “oldtimers” is the idea that “we work hard and play hard”. These messages get communicated to our youth both directly and indirectly, and our youth are now picking up this adult modelled behavior that includes alcohol and other drugs. These community norms are problematic as many adults in town still view youth alcohol and marijuana use as ‘rites of passage’ and ‘normal teenage behavior’. Our local data shows an alarming trend as significant numbers of our youth report getting alcohol and marijuana from their homes, sometimes with parent permission. A majority of adults in Colchester who drink alcohol report they do not secure alcohol in their homes, and a substantial number of youth report their families do not have clear rules against alcohol and marijuana use. So our youth are getting clear messages that drugs are not harmful, which in turn is impacting their substance misuse behaviors. Youth are also reporting low perception of risk or harm, especially for alcohol and marijuana as we’re seeing increases in school incidents related to substance misuse. But the culture of Colchester is also one where the community and its residents take a great sense of pride in caring for their own. There is a great sense of accomplishment when community members have tangible evidence to show that their efforts have saved lives and improved community conditions. Our adoption of a data and outcome driven approach to our prevention efforts has fueled this sense of accomplishment. The Colchester Prevention Council has created a spark and the community is responding by fanning collaborative actions into fires as coalition members enthusiastically engage in efforts to improve the lives of Colchester residents and reduce the impacts of youth substance abuse.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
