Project Grant H79SP085335

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Communities For Alcohol And Drug Free Youth (Cady Inc.) $250,000 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.492).

The award funds a five-year substance use prevention initiative serving an 18-town region of central New Hampshire. Cady will deliver school-based prevention curricula, a campus social norming campaign, youth-led peer messaging, and a year-round prevention camp model. The project targets approximately 6,500 individuals annually—an estimated 32,500 over the five-year period—including 2,988 K–12 students (ages 9–20) across three school districts, 3,331 Plymouth State University students (ages 18–25), and regional parental and kinship caregiver families in a HRSA-designated rural medically underserved region.

The award period extends through September 29, 2031, with place of performance in Plymouth, New Hampshire. Regional epidemiological data show elevated substance use and behavioral health needs relative to state averages: 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data document 22 percent past-30-day marijuana use (versus 19.8 percent statewide), 41.8 percent first alcohol use before age 13 (versus 12.2 percent statewide), an 11.8 percent youth suicide attempt rate (versus 8.5 percent statewide), and 36.1 percent lifetime vaping prevalence (versus 32.6 percent statewide). Among young adults, 88.09 percent of New Hampshire residents ages 18–25 needing substance use treatment do not receive it. Cady brings 27 years of substance use prevention leadership, including prior SAMHSA Partnerships for Success funding and Drug-Free Communities Coalition leadership, to the initiative.