White House Drug Policy Office Awards $125,000 to the Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force to Prevent Youth Substance Use

White House Drug Policy Office Awards $125,000 to the Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force to Prevent Youth Substance Use Grant Supports Coalition Efforts to Emphasize Substance Use Prevention Among Youth

Washington D.C. - Last month, Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), announced $85.9 million in grants for 698 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs across the country. The grants will provide funding to local community coalitions for preventing youth substance use, including prescription drugs, marijuana, tobacco, and alcohol. The Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force from Mundelein, Illinois, was one of the grant recipients and will receive $125,000 in DFC grant funds to involve and engage their local community to prevent substance use among youth.

"Our goal is to make Mundelein a safe and drug-free place for our youth," said Mundelein Deputy Police Chief and Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force Chairperson, Don Hansen.

"Prevention is a powerful tool to counteract teen alcohol and marijuana use, as well as other

substance use in our community, and we will use this funding to continue to help youth in Mundelein make healthy choices about substance use."

This fall, the Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force will begin its seventh year in the DFC program. Since its inception, the Task Force has seen a reduction in teen alcohol and other drug use. According to the Illinois Youth Survey, in 2008 the high school alcohol drinking rate was 38%*.

In 2016, that percentage decreased to 27% of high school teens in Mundelein reported drinking during the past 30 days.

Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, a non-profit organization in Lake County that prevents and treats substance abuse, addiction, and other risky behaviors, as well as provides mental health services, is the Task Force's fiscal agent for the DFC grant. Bruce

Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Nicasa, has been involved with STAND-UP since its

beginning and is very pleased with the progress the coalition has made to reduce teen drug use in Mundelein. "These numbers dispel the myth that everyone drinks, smokes, and does drugs. That is simply not true because the majority; 73% of high school students in Mundelein, choose not to drink on a regular basis and 87% do not smoke marijuana," reported Johnson. "Consistently, year after year, IYS data informs us that most teens in Mundelein make healthy choices to stay drug-free.

The Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force obtains their results by utilizing research-based, environmentally focused strategies known to support teens in making healthy and safe choices. However, the real power behind STAND-UP efforts and the reason why this coalition sees such great results is the combined effort of all the community partners involved," Johnson explained.

STAND-UP partners range from parents and students, to the Mundelein Police Department, Village of Mundelein, Lake County Health Department, Ela Township, Mundelein High School, Carmel Catholic High School, Carl Sandburg, Fremont and West Oak Middle Schools, The Rotary Club of Mundelein-Vernon Hills, Mundelein Park and Recreation District, and The Chapel, to highlight a few.

Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force strategies include:

• Social marketing Campaign for students at Mundelein High School and Carmel Catholic High School, "Be the Majority", which encourages teens to Be the Majority and be drug-free.

• Social Marketing Campaign for parents to highlight the influential role parents play in helping their teen make healthy choices. Research shows when kids know their parents disapprove of them drinking alcohol and using other drugs, teens are less likely to use.

• Parents Who Host Lose the Most Campaign raises awareness of Mundelein Social Host Ordinance 9.80, which says it is illegal to provide alcohol/other drugs to minors (or a place for minors to use drugs). According to the 2016 Illinois Youth Survey, students said they most often got alcohol from a friend, party, older sibling, and their parents (with and without permission).

• Educate students during school health class.

• Drug policy efforts include working with the Lake County Underage Drinking and Drug Prevention Task Force regarding marijuana and prescription drugs.

• Alcohol and Tobacco Retail Compliance Checks conducted by the Mundelein Police Department to ensure establishments that sell alcohol and tobacco do not sell to minors.

• Prescription Drug Drop Box, located at the Mundelein Police Department.

While alcohol and marijuana are the drugs teens in Mundelein use the most, the coalition also works to prevent teens from misusing prescription drugs. Deputy Chief Hansen encourages community members to take their unused, unwanted or expired prescription drugs to the first floor of the Mundelein Police Department to dispose of the drugs properly in the drop box.

"Decreasing youth access of prescription drugs via the drop box is a key strategy to prevent teens from getting their hands on prescriptions that don't belong to them. If teens don't have easy access, they are less likely to use drugs," says Hansen.

Background on the Drug-Free Communities Support Program

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, is the Nation's leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use. Directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the DFC Program provides grants to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use. The DFC Program provides grants of up to $625,000 over five years to community coalitions

that facilitate youth and adult participation at the community level in local youth drug use prevention efforts. Recognizing that local problems need local solutions, DFC-funded coalitions engage multiple sectors of the community and employ a variety of environmental strategies to address local drug problems. Additionally, DFC-funded communities have proven to be more effective in addressing these complex social issues and have demonstrated an increase in positive outcomes over communities that do not have DFC's.

About Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force

The Mundelein STAND-UP Task Force started in 2007 to prevent and reduce underage drinking and drug use among youth in Mundelein. The group is comprised of community leaders,organizations, schools, police, churches, youth, parents, and neighbors who are concerned about the health, safety and well-being of Mundelein youth. The Task Force meets the second Thursday of every month at the Mundelein Police Department from 8:30 am - 10:00 am. Meetings are free and open to the public. For more information contact Task Force Chairman Deputy Chief Don Hansen at (847) 968-3779; visit www.mundeleinstandup.org; or "like" us Facebook at www.facebook.com/mundeleinstandup/.

*2016 Illinois Youth Survey results of 10th and 12th grade students in Mundelein (Mundelein High School and Carmel Catholic High School). N=1,104.