Thursday, December 26, 2024
12/26/2024
Project Summary - Community Overview: The Forsyth County Drug Awareness Council is the only Drug Free Community Coalition (DFC) in the county and one of only nineteen DFCs in the state of Georgia which ranks at the 8th most populous state in the U.S. Forsyth County was a rural community of just 98,400 residents in 2000 but then began morphing into a sought out urbanized destination. The county has consistently ranked in the top twenty fastest growing counties in the United States since 2010 increasing by 78.36% to 175,511 by 2010 and is now over 236,612 in 2019 with projections to continue at this accelerated growth to swell to over 400,000 within the next two decades or less. Youth between the ages of 5 to 17 increased by 119.98% from 2000 to 2010 growing to a population of 39,812. By 2019 our county is currently the 7th largest school district in the state with over 51,000 students enrolled. The population of people 18 years of age and under is 27.4%, of which 78.1% are school goers and are 79% White, 14.5% Asian, 9.7% Hispanic or Latino, 4.1% Black and 1.4% Other races including American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. It is estimated that 45% of the population in Forsyth County are religious, of which approximately 50% are Baptist, 22% are Catholic, 12% are Methodist and the others constitute about 16%. Of the total female population, 15 years and older, 60% are married, 21% are never married, 10% are divorced and the remaining are either widowed, separated or spouse absent. Of the total male population 15 years and older, 64% are married, 25% are never married, 7% are divorced and the remaining are widowed, separated or spouse absent. 4.5% identify as LGBTQ+. Forsyth County is also the most highly educated county in Georgia with more than 50% of the adult population having bachelor’s degree and about 94% are high school graduates. This creates great stress for students with academic pressure is identified as 2% of the reason for attempting suicide, 3% of self-harm episodes according to GA DOE Student Health Survey, and one of the major reasons identified in informant interviews for substance usage. Also, with median household income being the 5th highest in the country and having an average commuting time of at least 30 minutes, which can escalate to several hours to and from work for parents who commute into nearby Atlanta, the additional drive time of parents provide many unsupervised hours for many Forsyth County youth. Our focus as a DFC is on prevention, reducing substance use and increasing perception of harm, while collaborating with those in intervention, recovery, and working to engage all sectors of the community. This cross-sector engagement matters for all locations, but especially for Forsyth County as we were included within the 2017 expanded “Heroin Triangle” identified in the 11 Alive Investigative Series, which includes hotspots in Atlanta and into our county. In addition to alcohol use, prescription drug use, and illicit drug use, the heroin triangle combined with escalating vape usage in our minors and the recent legalization for cultivation and distribution of marijuana to extract CBD oil in the near future presents endless choice of substances to tantalize vulnerable youth populations in our exploding population boom.
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).