Hogar CREA Drug-Free Community Coalition - Hogar CREA Drug-Free Community Coalition (HCDFCC) was founded in 2013, under the sponsorship of Hogar CREA, Inc. (HCI), a non-profit organization founded in 1968 in Saint Just, Trujillo Alto, that has been providing community-based substance abuse treatment services across Puerto Rico for the past 54 years, with the purpose of helping the Saint Just, Trujillo Alto and the Carolina communities to addressed the underage drinking, the marijuana consuming and the prescription drug & use problem among the community youth. The HCDFCC is a mission driving coalition whose Mission Statement: An Urban Community coalition dedicated to the reduction and prevention of youth substance abuse including use and abuse of drugs and underage drinking in the Saint Just, Trujillo Alto and Carolina communities of the Puerto Rico Metropolitan area, emphasizes the commitment of the coalition to help addressed the substance use among the community youth. The main purpose of the HCDFCC is to help strengthen collaborations to support the efforts of community coalitions, the Saint Just, Trujillo Alto and Carolina’s community leaders and service providers with the objective of preventing and reducing substance use of alcohol, marihuana, prescription drugs and other illegal drugs among the Saint Just and Carolina youth by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance use and promote the factors that minimize the risk of substance use. The HCDFCC has assume a leadership position among the community drug prevention and intervention services providers agencies and in the process has helped created great partnership by coordinating or participating in all this different activities and in the process it’s clear that the HCDFCC has help improve health on the local and state level, together with their partner agencies and community leaders had identified and addressed social determinants of health and improved the conditions environmental changes, he
alth equity, racial/ethnic and economic disparities had been achieved with the coalition efforts but the job is not completed yet. For the past 9 years the HCDFCC under the wings of HCI has developed the capacity to engage groups in all sectors and to build sustainable programs embraced by the community. Some of the HCDFCC accomplishments as of today are: having completed 3 Pride-Surveys (2018, 2020, 2022), a Community Assessment, a Logic Model. a Strategic Plan, a Sustainability Plan, has graduated twice from the CADCA Training Academy, among others.
Since 2013 HCDFCC has worked in schools and the community in the town Saint Just, Trujillo Alto and Carolina in the zip codes previously presented. Although workshops and written information have been offered in schools, community groups such as the Lions Club, Municipal and State Police, face-to-face and online summer camps we know we can do much more. The difficulties we have experienced on the island due to hurricanes and earthquakes as well as the coronavirus pandemic have limited access to community institutions. During the time of the pandemic, we offered services online and face to face in rehabilitation homes for men and mothers with children. Although through the surveys prepared by PRIDE (6 to 12), the coalition had seen an increase in the perception of risk due to the consumption of alcohol, marijuana, illegal and prescription drugs, we still want to work with the following aspects: work on protective factors especially among young people who indicate substance use, work with parents of students who identify as users, continue to work with other coalitions on alcohol and drug prevention in community schools and continue to train young leaders. Achieve full sustainability of the program by the end of the grant.
