Collaborative for Education Services receives funds for youth substance use prevention

Date: 4/27/2021

WESTERN MASS. – On April 20, the Massachusetts Department of Health and the Executive Office of Health and Human services announced that 31 organizations across the state would be receiving Massachusetts Collaborative for Action, Leadership, and Learning (MassCALL3) funding for their youth substance use prevention programs over the next eight years.

Among the winners is the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) and its Strategic planning initiative for Families and Youth Coalition (SPIFFY) and manager Heather Warner said they work with communities across Hampshire County to prevent youth substance use.

“SPIFFY is a county-wide coalition so we gather together with people from all different sectors of the community including schools, businesses, parents, law enforcement, social service agencies, and young people. We basically seek to reduce substance among young people across the county,” she said.

While SPIFFY gets involved in different communities with pilot programs, Warner said they do not run their own direct services.

“We do not offer programs in the sense that we do not have direct services we provide. We do have pilot programs we initiate and then we support different sectors to implement those programs in a more ongoing sustainable way,” she said.

Warner said SPIFFY works with schools by surveying students every two years about substance use and prevention.

“Another key role that SPIFFY plays is that we collect data from every school district in Hampshire County. We generally survey 3,000 students in eighth, 10th, and 12th grade. That data is then made available to each school district,” she said.

Along with surveying students, Warner said SPIFFY also offers a free life skills training program through the state for the middle schools.

“We work with schools to identify evidence-based curriculum and then support them in getting the training and resources they need to implement that curriculum. For example, we work with the state to provide free training for life skills in the middle schools,” she said.

Warner said getting involved in policy issues has been one of SPIFFY’s methods to help prevent youth drug use.

“We also get involved in issues around policy. Policy can be one of the most effective ways to prevent youth substance use. During the whole-time marijuana was becoming commercialized, we were preparing talking points and educational materials that would inform the public and legislators why having a cap on the number of outlets is important in preventing youth exposure,” she said.

While Warner said she is still waiting for an official response, she is expecting at least $100,000 in MassCALL3 funding.

“We have not actually received our letter. We are expecting that it runs on the state’s fiscal year and we are expecting to get between $100,000 and $125,000 per year. This is MassCall3 which replaces a grant we currently have from the Department of Public Health,” she said.

While SPIFFY works with communities throughout Hampshire County, Warner said they helped set up drug prevention programs in South Hadley, Easthampton, and Northampton that are now independent from CES.

“We worked with communities to apply for their own drug-free community funding, so now there are coalitions operating in those locations. In South Hadley there is the South Hadley Drug and Alcohol Prevention Coalition, in Easthampton there is the Easthampton Healthy Use Coalition, Northampton has the Northampton Prevention Coalition. Once those coalitions are set up, we collaborate on prevention work throughout the county,” she said.

Warner said the coalition has helped with compliance checks to make sure businesses are not selling alcohol to underage people.

“In Northampton, South Hadley, and Amherst we have worked with those local coalitions and local police to do compliance checks of alcohol outlets. So, I think we have played a key role in ensuring that stores are not selling to underage people,” she said.

With this round of funding, Warner said one of SPIFFY’s new objectives is to continue its work with a racial equity lens.

“One of the reasons we are excited for the MassCALL3 funding is that the Bureau of Substance Addiction Services is really looking for coalitions to continue to do prevention work but really through a racial equity lens. So, we are really excited to see what that means for our work,” she said.

Warner added that she was excited to continue to receive funding from the state because it has been the core funding for the coalition since its inception.

“We are thrilled about receiving the grant because there were competitive bids this time around. It is kind of the core funding for the coalition and that allows us to continue to work,” she said.