EPIC Awarded Nearly $1.5 Million
EPIC to Receive Almost $1.5 Million in Federal Funding
EPIC will receive $1,450,000 from two grants from the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This includes a total of $1,250,000 over five years from SAMHSA for a Strategic Prevention Framework – Partnership For Success (SPF-PFS) grant and a total of two hundred thousand dollars from SAMHSA for a Sober Truth On Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP Act) grant over the next four years. STOP Act grants are only awarded to current or former Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant recipients and EPIC has just completed its tenth and final year of DFC funding.
These grants will allow EPIC to expand upon existing efforts to prevent youth substance abuse in Cape Girardeau County by working closely with our community partners to build a healthy, and safe community with a strong focus on preventing underage drinking, preventing the use of meth amphetamine and preventing and reducing risks associated with the use of these substances. Projects will focus on two primary categories – community level change and family services. A few of the funded projects include EPIC Ed. community education events, community events and meetings, an “EPIC Business” project, social and emotional learning programming like EPIC Pals and EPIC Lens for young people, and direct services for families including a supervised visitation program and case management services for qualifying parents.
Funding from these grants has allowed EPIC to increase its staff size from three staff members to nine workers including full and part time staff members and contract workers.
EPIC is a community coalition in Southeast Missouri with the mission to join together in a common effort to build a healthy and safe community, reducing the risks of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs while promoting the healthy attitudes and behaviors of youth in Southeast Missouri. For more information on EPIC, visit epicprevention.org or call or email Shelly Wood, Community Services Coordinator, at 573-587-1921 or pals@epicprevention.org.