CE26-0220 - hub coalition chesterton - the hub coalition chesterton (HCC) DFC project targets the children and youth of chesterton, indiana, their families, and the community within which they live

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded Path Inc. $125,000 under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program Grants (CFDA 93.276) on July 1, 2026, to establish the Hub Coalition Chesterton project targeting substance use prevention among youth in Chesterton, Indiana.

The Hub Coalition Chesterton focuses on middle and high school students in the Duneland School Corporation, serving a population of 5,874 students, of whom 2,508 students (42.6%) represent underserved communities based on race, ethnicity, or economic need. The project addresses youth alcohol and marijuana use through awareness initiatives and alternative programming. The coalition established two measurable objectives: reduce 30-day alcohol use among Chesterton youth by 20 percent by 2030, and reduce 30-day marijuana use from 22 percent to 17.6 percent by 2029, with progress tracked through Youth Risk Behavior Surveys administered in 2026, 2028, and 2030.

Path Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Portage, Indiana, provides youth-focused prevention and intervention services across northwest Indiana. The performance period runs from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2031. Place of performance is Indiana.

The Drug-Free Communities Support Program establishes and strengthens collaborations among community coalitions, public and private nonprofit agencies, and federal, state, local, and tribal governments to prevent and reduce substance use among youth eighteen years of age and younger.

The primary emphasis of the HCC project is given to middle and high school students. The population of focus includes 5,874 students of whom 1,310 (22.3%) represent one or more underserved communities based on race and ethnicity. Additionally, at schools in the duneland school corporation (DSC), 1,198 students (20.4%) of students are eligible to participate in the federal free and reduced-price meal highlighting the significant level of economic need within the student population. The total population of focus to be served by the HCC project in underserved communities based on the student population alone is 2,508 or 42.6%. The community data represents a snapshot of the youth substance misuse problem in chesterton; however, IT clearly establishes alcohol and marijuana as the drugs of choice for our youth. The current findings clearly indicate a high preference for both alcohol (28.4%) and marijuana (20.3%). Marijuana has quickly gained in popularity among our youth and for that reason, HCC has devised an action plan that focuses on increasing awareness of the harmful effects of alcohol and marijuana use as well as in providing meaningful opportunities as an alternative to substance use. HCC has adopted the following objectives in response: objective 1: reduce 30-day alcohol use among chesterton youth from the 2024 baseline (to be updated following release of 2024 youth risk behavior survey) by 20% (-20% by 2030). (to be administered in 2026, 2028, and 2030.) objective 2: reduce 30-day marijuana use among chesterton students from the current 2024 baseline of 22% to 17.6% (-20%) by 2029 as measured by the youth risk behavior survey. (to be administered in 2026, 2028, and 2030.) the efforts describe in the 12-month action plan will result in the following outcomes: outcome 1: increase perceived parental disapproval of marijuana use among CSC students by 20% by 2030 as measured by the youth risk behavior survey. (to be administered in 2026, 2028, and 2030.) outcome 2: increase community awareness of alcohol, marijuana, and opioid use by 40% as measured by the indiana youth survey for region 1. (baseline by december 31, 2026.) outcome 3: decrease community attitudes favorable to alcohol, marijuana, and opioid use by 20% by 2031 as measured by indiana youth survey for region 1. (baseline by december 31, 2026.) to achieve this end, HCC will target middle and high school age youth and their families with the following strategies to be implemented in the first year and sustained through the 5-year project: 1) securing the infrastructure and capacity to address substance misuse prevention through wide-ranging community collaboration, 2) improving coalition competency through trainings and education, 3) increasing awareness of the issues around alcohol and marijuana with multimodal communications, 4) enhancing parenting skills to buffer exposure to negative influences, 5) implementing a comprehensive prevention media campaign targeting alcohol and marijuana, 6) enhancing school-based youth coalitions with training and activity support, 7) advocating for school drug and alcohol response policy reviews and updates, 8) conducting outreach targeting under-resourced, underrepresented bipoc populations to include hispanic and african american communities, and 9) improving access to prevention resources for parents and their families.