Tri-Town Youth Services (TTYS), which serves the towns of Chester, Deep River, and Essex, has received a $125,000 grant in continuation funding from the Drug-Free Communities Support Program to prevent youth substance abuse. The money will allow existing drug abuse prevention efforts to continue and expand, with a focus on the opioid crisis.

“We are thrilled to receive this money,” said TTYS Executive Director Allison Abramson, who also serves as chair of the Tri-Town Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (SAPC).

This grant marks the eighth year of funding in a 10-year cycle, Abramson said. Part of the money goes to fund the full-time tri-town prevention coordinator position currently held by Jennifer Buckley. Buckley works directly with SAPC, which is made up primarily of volunteers from the three towns, as well as law enforcement officials, community business owners, and school youth.

This year, for the first time, there will be the addition of a part-time Prevention Corps AmeriCorps Member-Opioid Prevention Program position, for which TTYS is currently in the midst of interviewing candidates. When filled, this position will be shared with Old Saybrook. The person who will be filling this position will be someone who has specialized training in opioid prevention.

“There have been several studies done that show that over time, the communities who have received money for drug-free community programs have lower rates of teen substance abuse use, than those that don’t have programs and funding in place,” explained Abramson. “These programs are effective.”

With the mission of mobilizing and empowering the community to reduce substance abuse through action, education, and collaboration, SAPC tackles issues such as use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, prescription drugs, and heroin. It works to bring useful programs and workshops to the community to educate parents and children about healthy choices. This endeavor goes hand in hand with the TTYS mission to empower youth and encourage health and wellness throughout the community.

SAPC has four active work groups, which include a Youth Action Council (YAC), the Parent Advisory Group, the Policy Task Force, and the Community Wellness Group.

YAC is a club at Valley Regional High School through which students explore the topics of substance abuse as well as mental wellness, stress management, and school climate. The students come up with projects for their peers and have input on programs and workshops they think will be helpful in combating the substance abuse problems.

According to Tri-Town Youth services website, a Search Institute Survey of John Winthrop and Valley Regional High School students conducted in January 2017 revealed that only 46 percent of youth have clear rules and consequences at home and parents who monitor their whereabouts. SAPC has targeted “parental permissiveness” as one of the root causes of underage drinking and drug use in the three towns.

In the year ahead, SAPC will be conducting community surveys to learn more about local parents’ beliefs and behaviors and identifying a comprehensive assortment of evidence-based prevention strategies to address parental permissiveness.

The next SAPC meeting, titled “Prevention 101,” will be held on Thursday, Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. at TTYS, 56 High Street in Deep River. All are welcome. For more information visit tritownys.org.