DARKE COUNTY – The Coalition for a Healthy Darke County for the second year as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit will offer grants for K-12 youth substance abuse prevention education in Darke County.
Coalition President Sharon Deschambeau and Darke County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Mark Whittaker attended a statewide meeting hosted by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in 2017 that was focused on fighting the drug epidemic in Ohio.
“The 1,600 attendees listened to Attorney General DeWine present the recommendations of the Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education. The group’s report offers a plan to incorporate drug education in schools at all grade levels,” Deschambeau said. “It was apparent from the findings of the study and discussion throughout the meeting that our communities must start the substance abuse prevention education process early. Some Ohio communities are educating as early as pre-school.”
Deschambeau also serves as the president of the Darke County Chamber of Commerce and indicated that investing in substance abuse prevention education for children at an early age may benefit businesses and communities in the long term.
“Perhaps we will see a difference in the health of our future workforce in Darke County in the next 10-12 years by starting substance abuse prevention education now,” she said.
The grant application can be found at the Coalition website at https://coalitiondarkecounty.com/. The deadline to apply is Dec. 31.
