Akwesasne Coalition for Community Empowerment Awarded $125,000

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) announced a series of new and continuing Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program Grants awarded to organizations around the district working to prevent substance abuse and promote recovery.

These grants are administered by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The DFC Grant Program was created under the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997.

“Substance abuse touches our communities, our schools and our families, and no one is immune from this devastating epidemic,” Stefanik said in a prepared statement announcing the grants. “Prevention is a powerful tool to protect against substance abuse in the North Country. Teaching our youth to make healthy choices at a young age is the first step in avoiding the many tragedies we see and read about in the news. These important grants will go a long way in bringing youth, parents, school administrators and other community leaders together to save lives and protect our loved ones. I commend ONDCP and SAMHSA for making these critical investments that enable us to stop substance abuse and improve the health of our North Country communities. In Congress, I will continue working across the aisle with my colleagues to address the substance abuse epidemic plaguing far too many families across our district and across our nation.”

Indian Time contacted the Akwesasne Coalition for Community Empowerment for a statement. They referred us to Mike Cook, Director of Health Services. Cook did not respond as of Wednesday afternoon.