Eagle River Valley Strategic Prevention Efforts Project Grant Summary

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention awarded Eagle River Youth Coalition, Inc. a $500,000 project grant under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.243) on September 30, 2025, with a completion date of September 29, 2030. The Eagle River Valley Strategic Prevention Efforts initiative implements a comprehensive strategic prevention framework to address youth substance use and mental health needs across Eagle County, Colorado. Primary deliverables include conducting needs assessments, developing logic models, and creating implementation and evaluation plans to guide evidence-based prevention programming targeting youth ages 9-25, parents, caregivers, and community members within the Eagle County School District boundaries.

The coalition's service delivery focuses on increasing community capacity and infrastructure through information dissemination, capacity-building trainings, and the implementation of evidence-based programs, policies, and practices designed to prevent youth access to and use of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco. Key activities include coordinating multi-sector collaboration among youth-serving entities, conducting community-based educational and environmental prevention efforts, and establishing systems to reduce contributing risk factors while promoting protective factors. The project emphasizes both primary prevention programming and environmental strategies, including compliance checks and party patrol enforcement to limit youth access to controlled substances, supporting comprehensive substance use prevention efforts throughout the Eagle River Valley region.