The Spearfish Community Coalition is in year two of its second, $625,000, five-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs grant. The coalition’s focus is on substance prevention and youth leadership development, like the team-building event pictured at Spearfish Middle School. Pioneer file photo by Kaija Swisher

The Spearfish Community Coalition is in year two of its second, $625,000, five-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs grant. The coalition’s focus is on substance prevention and youth leadership development, like the team-building event pictured at Spearfish Middle School. Pioneer file photo by Kaija Swisher

SPEARFISH — To support its mission to “mobilize the community to promote a positive, healthy, and drug-free youth,” the volunteer-driven, nonprofit Spearfish Community Coalition (SCC) continues to provide programming for substance use prevention and youth leadership development in year two of the second, five-year $625,000 Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Programs grant.

“The Drug-Free Communities Support Program make a vital difference at the community level – reaching out to people where they live with the help they need to prevent substance use,” said Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. “SAMHSA is honored to join the Office of National Drug Control Policy in working with community coalitions across the nation to create healthy and drug-free environments for children, youth, and families.”

Locally, the SCC’s main focus is on substance prevention and youth leadership development in middle and high school students.

“While the SCC mainly targets all of the middle and high school age kids, we also include messaging and prevention initiatives towards parents, businesses, elementary age children, and college age students,” Melissa Currier, SCC executive director, said. She listed some of the events and activities that the SCC organizes and supports, including the Downtown Friday Nights ID Tent, Middle School Youth Leadership Conference, the Youth and Family Resource Guide, LifeSkills Training Prevention Curriculum, Red Ribbon Week, and more.

The grant will assist with these projects, which impact many area youth. For example, Currier said, Red Ribbon activities take place at all Spearfish schools; the Youth Leadership Conference has typically 100-120 per year from all local middle schools; the LifeSkills TrainingCurriculum is given to all students in Creekside Elementary and Spearfish Middle School.

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