Nonprofit coalition snags $625,000 anti-drug grant
If you go
If a parent in the community thinks his or her child might be taking prescription drugs or drinking, they can attend an upcoming town hall meeting, find Janesville Mobilizing 4 Change on Facebook or attend a coalition meeting at noon on the third Thursday of the month in the Hedberg Public Library conference room, 316 S. Main St., Janesville.
Photo 
Bryan J. McCormick
JANESVILLE — Things are about to change at Janesville Mobilizing 4 Change.
After learning last week it had secured a $625,000 grant from the Drug-Free Communities Support Program, the local nonprofit coalition believes the time is right to hire a full-time project coordinator.
"We hope to have someone on board by Oct. 15, for about $45,000, to spearhead our efforts to educate the community about the dangers of underage drinking and prescription drugs," said Bryan McCormick, project director in charge of the grant.
McCormick also is liaison between JM4C—a group focused on eliminating risky behaviors in youth—and the city of Janesville, which serves as fiscal agent for the grant.
The grant, which will be spread over five years, also will help fund training to teach coalition members how to work with schools and other organizations and to plan town hall meetings and community events, he said.
"Wisconsin has got a bit of a culture issue with the drinking," McCormick said. "We need to educate the community about the dangers of underage drinking and what it can lead to and also about the danger of prescription drug abuse.
"I think kids just aren't aware of the dangers of prescription drugs, and you hear about all these parties and kids getting together and throwing pills together and taking them," he added. "They think it's not dangerous, but certain things mixed together can be a problem."
The coalition will focus on advocacy and educating the community on these dangers, he said.
JM4C and BASE, also known as Building A Safer Evansville, were among 60 programs selected for grants from 364 applicants.
Sep 6, 2012 at 3:19 p.m.
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But noob, what will all of these local big government types do without grant money to divide up among themselves, and how will the Washington bureaucrats pay their McMansion mortgage without their six figure salaries reviewing grant applications ?
Sep 6, 2012 at 3:01 p.m.
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In the last 40 years we as a country have spent about 20 to 25 BILLION dollars a year in this effort to end the drug problem and yet 40 percent of all high school seniors state they have done some form of drug in the last year. When will we stop this insanity and just realize we need to educate young people about drugs.
NOT the education where adults stand in front of a room full of kids showing slides of people killed in car accidents or jumping off roofs thinking they can fly but real education about what a drug actually does to you. How about TV shows that instead of showing how some group of people can fall into tribal thinking if left on an island covered with TV cameras but a real life in the day of a JUNKIE. Begging for quarters, offering to sell themselves to any lowlife with $10 so they can get high tonight or eating out of a dumpster behind a restaurant or sleeping in an ally hoping to not get raped mugged or killed for their stash. THIS MIGHT have an effect.
Policies like ZERO TOLERANCE are the impetus whereby a simple lapse in judgment will send a kid into a downward spiral that ends in that alley. Yes it sounds great just like putting someone in jail and “throwing away the key”.
Story line goes like this.
16 year old kid is busted for smoking a joint in the parking lot at school or picked up at a beer party.
Kid is suspended from school for a year or two or thrown off the sports team they live for.
Parents of said kids friends don’t want their kids “influenced” and forbid any contact with the “bad kid”
“Bad kid” now has no friends and no support from school or family as many parents have shunned them.
Bad kid now has nothing to do all day can’t get a job because of the “record” and too young to work.
The only part of society they can identify with is the low life drugged out night lifers who gladly accept them as new innocents to be preyed upon.
Time to RETHINK our game plan I think !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 5, 2012 at 5:29 p.m.
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Congrats to Janesville! Is it normal to hire someone for $45,000 ($225,000 over five years)to oversee spending the balance of $85,000 ($425,000 over 5 years)? Seems like there must be a more cost effective way to do this. Just saying.
Sep 5, 2012 at 1:49 p.m.
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To educate children in schools and at home is not that costly To pay 45,000 a year to have someone head a program that can be easily taught through schools and other community awareness programs is not really needed.
Sep 5, 2012 at 1:46 p.m.
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But they can't get a little funding for RSVP for seniors WHAT A WORLD WE LIVE.
Sep 5, 2012 at 12:20 p.m.
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saxcat- That is IF they want to learn, which is another thing altogether.
Sep 5, 2012 at 9:13 a.m.
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Just think how far we would get as a society, if we focused all this money on teaching parents how to parent.
Sep 4, 2012 at 10:10 p.m.
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lovemycountry-Federal grants are money already "spent" by the government. Someone was going to get this money and now it will be $625,000 more into the local economy instead of somewhere else in this country. Janesville certainly need the money AND the efforts to reduce underage drinking, so HORRAY!
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If you don't like federal grants, then petition the federal government to stop awarding them, but don't complain about Janesville getting this money!
Sep 4, 2012 at 9:48 p.m.
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As long as it's a free money grant, and the federal government isn't borrowing money against our children's earnings to pay for this and the 60 other programs, then it's all good. What ? The federal government doesn't have the money ? So, this is another short term, start/stop program that won't put a dent in underage drinking, like the last eight programs before it. We should definitely do more of these. :0
Sep 4, 2012 at 5:54 p.m.
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Great news for Janesville! Congrats!!
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