Thursday, June 12, 2025
6/12/2025
Fresh Start DFC - The Fresh Start Community Coalition (Fresh Start) is applying for a FY2024 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $124,999. The mission of Fresh Start is to prevent marijuana and alcohol use among youth in our community, provide education, and improve healthy habits and positive behaviors. The coalition serves the geographic areas defined by the Hazelwood, Ferguson-Florissant, and Jennings school districts in north St. Louis County, Missouri, a community of 56,880 people of which 12,895 people reside in the 63136-zip code, our target market. The purpose of the Fresh Start Community Coalition’s DFC initiative is to establish and strengthen collaborations to support Fresh Start’s efforts in preventing and reducing youth use of marijuana and alcohol and to prevent and reduce the use of marijuana and alcohol among youth, evidenced by past 30-day use trends. Program objectives for this application include: Objective 1.1: By the end of the initial grant period (9/29/25), Fresh Start will build internal organizational capacity through enhanced structure, training, and strategic planning which will result in a 20% increase in coalition member understanding of the coalition’s mission and accomplishments, as measured by an initial, then annual, online assessment of staff and membership. Objective 1.2: By 9/29/25, build from 13 to 20 the number of partnerships established with community stakeholders as measured by attendees at meetings, new sponsorships, new activities, and/or invitations to participate in others' meetings, events, and activities. Objective 2.1: By 9/29/25, increase reported perception of harm of marijuana by 2% (from 60.9% in 2022 to 62.9% in 2025) and decrease reported ease of marijuana access by 4% (from 19.1% in 2022 to 15.1% in 2025) among North St. Louis County 6th-12th grade students, as measured by the Missouri Student Survey (MSS). Objective 2.2: By 9/29/25, increase reported perception of harm of alcohol use by 3% (from 66.8% in 2022 to 69.8% in 2025) and increase reported perception of peer disapproval of alcohol use by 3% (from 75% in 2022 to 78% in 2025) among North St. Louis County 6th-12th grade students (MSS). Through the use of the Strategic Prevention Framework, the coalition will meet these objectives by implementing the 7 strategies of community change related to increasing awareness of the dangers of and preventing access to marijuana and alcohol. Specifically, Fresh Start will 1) enhance coalition capacity (structure, membership, function, and collaboration), 2) increase knowledge and awareness of the problems and contributing factors in the North St. Louis community, 3) reduce access to the problem substances, 4) engage and educate the youth population on the harms of marijuana and alcohol use, and 5) engage a variety of media that encourages positive behaviors and educates on the harms of youth alcohol and marijuana use.
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).