Shifting youth culture coalition (SYCC) - abstact the shifting youth culture coalition (SYCC) will establish a community coalition focused on reducing marijuana use and underage drinking among youth…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded $250,000 to Aliviane, Inc. on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program Grants (CFDA 93.276) to establish and operate the Shifting Youth Culture Coalition (SYCC), a community coalition focused on reducing marijuana use and underage drinking among youth in El Paso.

SYCC will generate awareness about the adverse effects of marijuana use and underage drinking, increase community participation and coalition membership, create peer-to-peer support groups, and organize prosocial community events targeting youth populations in El Paso ZIP codes 79901, 79902, and 79835. Aliviane, Inc., a non-profit, community-based organization headquartered in El Paso, Texas, serves as the fiscal agent and will execute the award across the five-year period of performance from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, with place of performance in Texas. The Drug-Free Communities Support Program establishes and strengthens collaborations among communities, public and private non-profit agencies, and federal, state, local, and tribal governments to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth 18 years of age and younger. Community coalitions must demonstrate at least six months of prior collaborative work on substance abuse reduction initiatives, meet composition requirements, ensure substantial community volunteer effort, maintain nonprofit or eligible government status, develop a self-sustaining strategy, provide 100 to 150 percent cash or in-kind match, and participate in program evaluation.

Shifting youth culture coalition (SYCC) - abstact the shifting youth culture coalition (SYCC) will establish a community coalition focused on reducing marijuana use and underage drinking among youth populations in EL paso ZIP codes 79901, 79902, and 79835 by generating awareness about the adverse effects of marijuana use and underage drinking, increasing community participation and coalition membership, creating peer-to-peer support groups, and organizing prosocial community events. Aliviane, INC., who will serve as the fiscal agent for the DFC support grant, is based in EL paso, texas, and serves a diverse population of residents, situated in EL paso county (population: 875,784), which is located in the extreme southwest corner of texas along the U.S. Border with mexico separated by the RIO grande river. More precisely, SYCC will serve the ZIP codes 79901 (population: 8,518), 79902 (population: 21,504), and 79835 (population: 12,573), upholding public service, truth, and the safety of american families. Traditionally, EL paso's downtown and southcentral communities have higher rates of poverty while also having limited educational and economic opportunities, while canutillo, texas, is a developing community about 12 miles away from central EL paso and faces many of the same conditions. In EL paso county, poverty levels are higher than national rates and most of texas. Specifically, 16.6% of EL paso county families live in poverty, specifically canutillo has a poverty level of 33.5%. Moreover, the EL paso county free/reduced lunch program participation rate is 76.7%. According to the united states census bureau, the per capita income at the start of 2024 was $27,541. EL paso, texas, (including ZIP codes 79901 and 79902) is 45.9 miles away from LAS cruces, new mexico (population: 111,000), which is a state that legalized cannabis for recreational use on june 29, 2021. Canutillo, texas, (including ZIP code 79835) is 2.1 miles away from the new mexico state line, where youth in this community would have significantly increased exposure to technically legal and accessible marijuana and its normalized use. In general, youth experiencing a formidable period in their lives, as they transition from teenagers into adults, need extra support and positive reinforcement to bolster protective factors and minimize risk factors. Among these three ZIP codes, three middle schools and three high schools will be served, so DFC support will immediately impact those students from underserved and under-resourced communities. Furthermore, because of their proximity to new mexico, additional focus should be dedicated to youth throughout these identified ZIP codes. SYCC's evaluation and performance measurement plan describes how SYCC will monitor, assess, and report its progress toward achieving the objectives outlined in its DFC work plan. Reporting will include annual performance reports, annual progress reports, a data management plan, data on required performance measures, sustainability plan, federal financial reports, final performance reports, and final financial reports. The SYCC will collect and report on (1) past 30-day use, (2) perception of risk, (3) perception of parental disapproval, and (4) perception of peer disapproval using survey data collected from youth in EL paso ZIP codes 79901, 79902, 79835 and who are within the 13 to 18 age range. Aliviane collaborates with community partners across all 12 sectors to sustain and strengthen those vulnerable and isolated populations to comprehensively develop and implement environmental prevention strategies. The SYCC plans on expanding the DFC coalition membership and leveraging community partners, businesses, and government agencies, among others, to identify opportunities in support of the SYCC and the EL paso community more generally. SYCC will become a staple of prevention initiatives and community improvement over the next five years.