Drug Free Communities Support Program FN/TX - Project Abstract Summary WestCare Foundation, Inc. (WCF), in partnership with WestCare Texas (WCTX) and the Promise Zone Coalition (PZC), seeks continuation funding for Year 6 of the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. The project aims to prevent and reduce youth alcohol and opioid use— particularly fentanyl—within San Antonio’s Eastside Promise Zone (EPZ), a 22-square-mile area composed of 19 contiguous census tracts experiencing significant challenges and reduced access to resources. Home to 160,000 residents, the EPZ includes a demographic population with a poverty rate exceeding 35%, and limited access to health care, behavioral health services, and safe youth-centered activities. According to the U.S. Census.gov and San Antonio Promise Zone Impact Report, the population is majority Hispanic/Latino (44.66 percent), Black/African American (44.25 percent), and White (8.95 percent) and is 10.7 percent of San Antonio’s total population. WCTX serves as the local implementing partner and leads the Promise Zone Coalition, a community-driven initiative rooted in public-private partnerships and comprised of all 12 required DFC sectors. Since the initial DFC award in 2020, the PZC has built a robust infrastructure of leadership, youth engagement, and locally tailored strategies to address the conditions contributing to the illegal drug use and the misuse of legal drugs by youth. Through its resiliency-based approach, the coalition has positioned itself as a key partner in improving youth health outcomes and community safety. Year 6 funding will support implementation of comprehensive, research-supported, practice-based strategies grounded in the Strategic Prevention Framework (SPF) and the Seven Strategies for Community-Level Change. These include: Botvin Life Skills Training for middle and high school students; crisis-response and resiliency-based care training for parents, educators, and service providers; peer-led social media prevention campaigns; environmental strategies to restrict youth access to substances (e.g., compliance checks, zoning advocacy, billboard reduction); and public awareness efforts such as the “One Pill Can Kill” and “Start Talking Before They Start Drinking” campaigns. Key performance outcomes include: • A 10% reduction in 30-day use of alcohol and opioids among participating youth • A 20–40% increase in perceived risk and disapproval of illegal drug use and the misuse of legal drugs by youth and parents • A 10% reduction in juvenile crime during summer months through youth-led activities • A measurable increase in intergovernmental collaboration and access to behavioral health services The Coalition will continue to lead efforts that foster sustainable change by strengthening partnerships, increasing community capacity, and integrating the prevention of illegal drug use and misuse of legal drugs by youth into education, health, public safety, and faith-based systems. Over the long term, the project aims to reduce illegal drug use and misuse of legal drugs by youth by 20%, extend these reductions to adults by 10%, and institutionalize prevention efforts through new policies and a comprehensive 10-year sustainability plan.
