Mentoring

grants

As a part of the history of Northeast Communities Against Substance Abuse’s (NECASA) efforts in educating and preventing substance use and abuse in northeastern Connecticut over the past 25 years, the organization mentored the Town of Putnam and the Town of Windham to assist them in getting their own Drug Free Community Support grants.  NECASA used a Drug Free Communities Mentoring grant for the planning and technical assistance.

Approximately eight years ago, NECASA used a federal Drug Free Communities Support Mentoring Grant to provide technical assistance, strategic planning and to identify an experienced grant writer for Putnam when they first convened the PRIDE coalition. Thanks in large part to the technical assistance; the Town of Putnam was successful in getting their first five-year cycle of DFC grant funding. NECASA continued to provide technical assistance to the coalition as the town applied for the STOP ACT underage drinking prevention grant and also has provided local prevention council funding to Putnam annually. LPC funding proved critical when PRIDE experienced a funding gap between their first and second funding cycles, helping the group to continue meeting and to push forward with as many initiatives as possible. 

In Windham, seven years ago, NECASA used the second year of its mentoring grant to assist the Town’s “Weed and Seed” Coalition, providing the same structure and links to strategic planning, organization and a grant writing professional and Windham received its own Federal Drug Free grant that fall. 

Both Putnam and Windham are now in their second five-year cycle of Drug Free grants and NECASA is still providing assistance as they move forward with their own programs and initiatives.