Project Grant NH28CE004160

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention awarded the County of Erie Health Department $125,000 on July 1, 2026, under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (CFDA 93.276) to establish and strengthen community collaboration for youth substance use prevention.

The EHOVE Future Leaders Coalition, based at the EHOVE Career Center serving Erie County, Ohio, will implement evidence-based prevention strategies targeting youth aged 18 and under attending the Career Center, which draws students from across a three-county service area. The coalition will also engage parents, school staff, and broader community membership across 12 sectors. The project focuses on alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use, identified as key concerns through community assessment data.

Over the initial 12-month period, the coalition will sustain high levels of engagement targeting 80 percent active participation while integrating understanding of adverse childhood experiences and mental health as factors influencing substance use. The coalition will reduce past 30-day alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use among EHOVE Career Center students and increase meaningful youth engagement in coalition activities by 30 percent. Key strategies include evidence-based prevention education on alcohol and marijuana risks for students and parents, social norms marketing, addressing peer influence risk factors, fostering youth leadership through a Youth Advisory Board, and proactive communication with ACES and mental health educational opportunities for coalition members.

The County of Erie Health Department serves as fiscal agent. Place of performance is Ohio. The period of performance runs through June 30, 2031.