Wednesday, March 12, 2025
3/12/2025
This grant program will prevent the onset and reduce the progression of substance abuse and its related problems while strengthening prevention capacity and infrastructure at the community level in East Multnomah County (EMC) and North Clackamas County (NCC). Northwest Family Services (NWFS) intends to address two of our counties top substance abuse prevention priorities - underage drinking and marijuana use among persons 9-20 with an emphasis on the disproportionately affected Latino population. Focusing on “community-driven efforts to advance substance abuse prevention and to address behavioral health disparities” among the Latino populations by “encouraging the implementation of strategies to decrease the differences in access, service use, and outcomes” is the approach. Activities in this grant will be concentrated on reducing alcohol and marijuana use within the populations of focus, in order to enhance the efforts and progress our current EMC programs and NCC Vibrant Future Coalition (VFC) have made through their on-going work. The Oregon Student Wellness Survey (SWS) data shows most youth in EMC & NCC start consuming alcohol and marijuana between 8th and 11th grade. Youth also report low rates of perceived harm from drinking and using marijuana; only 40% of youth aged 12-17 perceive there to be “great risk from having 5 or more alcoholic drinks once or twice a week” (NSDUH, 2017). Since 2000, the number of Gresham residents living in poverty has increased by 150% and non-white residents have increased by over 60%. The East Metro Gang Enforcement Team estimates a total gang population of 1,350 to 2,250 in EMC. The percentage of people who hold a high school diploma, GED or lower is 56%-64% for many communities in EMC (2014 Multnomah County OJJDP Gang Assessment).The Latino community is the largest minority group in Clackamas County, accounting for 8.4% of the population and growing (Census, 2017). In 2017, the Oregon Healthy Teens (OHT) survey confirmed that Latino adolescents were the second highest ethnicity to have used alcohol, at 31% of 8th grade students (OHT, 2017). Our strategies and interventions include completing a needs assessment specific to alcohol and marijuana use in our target areas. We then propose to manage all of the local conditions we find by using the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)’s Seven Strategies for Community Change. We intend to serve 20,000 people over the five year grant period. The Oregon SWS provides data for 8th and 11th grade students on key measures related to our goals. Project goals and measurable outcomes, are listed below: Goal 1: Organize and assess North Clackamas and the East County community to find root causes of teen alcohol and marijuana use and build the needed infrastructures to better serve youth and the Latino community in these jurisdictions. Goal 2: Reduce alcohol and marijuana use among youth age 9-20 and, over time, by addressing the factors in a community that increase the risk of substance abuse & promoting the factors that minimize the risk of 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).