The gateway recovery community coalition, a collaborative initiative of metro drug coalition and the gateway recovery community center, seeks to reduce youth opioid and marijuana misuse in knox…

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded Metro Drug Coalition, Inc. $124,925 on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (CFDA 93.276) to reduce youth opioid and marijuana misuse in Knox County, Tennessee through the Gateway Recovery Community Coalition.

The Gateway Recovery Community Coalition, a collaborative initiative of Metro Drug Coalition and the Gateway Recovery Community Center, will implement evidence-based prevention strategies integrated with leadership and mentorship from individuals in recovery. The project will strengthen community systems and enhance protective factors by expanding coalition membership, enhancing partner collaboration, building workforce skills, increasing community awareness, and advancing prevention-informed policies. Coalition members with lived experience in recovery will provide education, mentorship, and credible prevention messaging to youth and families while engaging in policy advocacy. The coalition will address key risk and protective factors through education and training informed by the Strategic Prevention Framework and seven strategies for community-level change.

Knox County faces elevated risk factors for youth substance misuse, including increasing overdose rates among young people, high levels of mental health distress, widespread home exposure to substance use, and geographic vulnerability to drug trafficking corridors. Existing prevention efforts address alcohol and nicotine, but opioids and marijuana remain largely unaddressed among selective and indicated youth populations.

The award obligates $124,925 with a period of performance from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031, and place of performance in Tennessee.

The gateway recovery community coalition, a collaborative initiative of metro drug coalition and the gateway recovery community center, seeks to reduce youth opioid and marijuana misuse in knox county, tennessee, through a comprehensive, recovery-informed, community-level prevention approach. Knox county faces elevated risk factors for youth substance misuse, including increasing overdose rates among young people, high levels of mental health distress, widespread exposure to substance use in the home, and geographic vulnerability to drug trafficking corridors. Despite existing prevention efforts addressing alcohol and nicotine, opioids and marijuana remain largely unaddressed, creating a critical service GAP for selective and indicated youth. The purpose of this project is to strengthen community systems, enhance protective factors, and reduce risk factors associated with youth opioid and marijuana misuse by integrating evidence-based prevention strategies with the lived experience and leadership of individuals in recovery. The coalition leverages the gateway recovery ecosystem to bridge prevention, treatment, and recovery services, ensuring coordinated and sustainable responses across sectors. Individuals in recovery play a central role in coalition leadership, mentorship, education, and policy engagement, providing authentic, credible prevention messaging and fostering resilience among youth and families. Using drug-free communities funding, the coalition will implement the strategic prevention framework and the seven strategies for community-level change to guide all activities. Under goal 1, the coalition will strengthen organizational capacity and effectiveness by expanding membership, enhancing partner collaboration, building workforce skills, increasing community awareness, and advancing prevention-informed policies. Under goal 2, the coalition will address key risk and protective factors by educating and training parents and adults, increasing access to prevention and cessation resources, promoting healthy alternative activities, advocating for supportive discipline practices, improving medication disposal infrastructure, and engaging policymakers through data-informed advocacy. Primary target populations include selective and indicated youth under age 18 who are affected by family substance use, trauma, justice involvement, housing instability, and economic hardship. Secondary populations include parents, caregivers, educators, and youth-serving professionals who influence home, school, and community environments. Expected year 1 outcomes include increased coalition membership and organizational capacity; improved effectiveness and quality of prevention programming; increased community awareness of opioid and marijuana risks; enhanced knowledge and skills among adults working with youth; strengthened intergovernmental collaboration; expanded reach of prevention services to at-risk youth; and dissemination of a comprehensive policy brief to community and government stakeholders. Through continuous evaluation, data-informed decision-making, and strong community partnerships, the gateway recovery community coalition will advance long-term reductions in youth substance use, prevent overdoses, and promote healthier, more resilient families and communities across knox county.