Project Grant NH28CE004090

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $125,000 to the Town of Westwood Fire Department on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program Grants (CFDA 93.276).

The Westwood Cares Drug-Free Communities Support Program reduces and prevents youth substance use in Westwood, Massachusetts, through coalition-building and community intervention. Short-term outcomes include increasing adult and youth coalition membership by 10 percent, collecting baseline data on drug-free community outcomes, and identifying root causes for youth access to alcohol and marijuana. The program implements a digital youth alcohol prevention campaign targeting 75 percent of Westwood parents and guardians of middle and high school students, develops peer-led social marketing to increase peer disapproval of marijuana use and perception of risk among grades 9–12, and expands substance-free after-school activities for grades 6–12 by 10 percent. Long-term outcomes by year five include developing or strengthening two policies addressing alcohol and marijuana access, increasing coalition activities by 50 percent, and communicating data outcomes to at least 75 percent of the community biannually.

The period of performance runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, with performance occurring in Massachusetts. The DFC Support Program establishes and strengthens community coalitions that prevent youth substance use by addressing risk factors and promoting protective factors. The program operates through cooperative agreements of one to five years, with continuation subject to satisfactory progress documentation and federal determination that continued funding serves government interests.