Drug-free efforts

PRINCETON — The Community Partners Against Substance Abuse (CPASA) has received a $125,000 grant to help fight drug and substance abuse in Bureau and Putnam counties. CPASA will receive the $125,000 grant in October through the Office of National Drug Control Policy. CPASA coordinator Dawn Conerton said this is the third year for CPASA to receive this grant, which is part of a five-year federally-funded Drug Free Communities grant program. As long as the local group continues to meet requirements in local drug and substance abuse prevention efforts, CPASA will receive a total of $625,000 through the five-year program, Conerton said. In giving a brief history on CPASA, Conerton said the group was formed in 2007 and received its first federal funding in 2009. “Efforts to keep our youth drug free are critical to healthy and safe communities here in Bureau and Putnam counties. The Drug Free Communities program has recognized the great potential CPASA has to prevent and reduce youth substance abuse and literally save the lives of our youth.” Conerton said. “Continued funding will allow us to sustain current programs, begin new programs, and continue to mobilize our communities around the goal of reducing substance abuse among youth and, over time, among adults.” Looking at the accomplishments of CPASA’s second year of federal funding, Conerton said CPASA has a lot of which to be proud. One accomplishment is the P2D2 program, which is an on-going prescription take-back program. The purpose of the program is to educate people about the harm done to the environment through improperly disposed prescription drugs and to also educate people about the misuse and abuse of pharmaceuticals due to prescription and non-prescription drug disposal practices worldwide, she said. With last year’s funding, CPASA was able to continue to support the P2D2 program at the Princeton Police Department, Spring Valley Police Department, and the Bureau County Sheriff’s Department and to expand the program to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. CPASA also participated in a national Take Back Day in April and will do so again in October, Conerton said. “The great thing about participating (in P2D2) is that it not only helps bring awareness to the issue of prescription drug abuse, but also gives us a chance to work with the Drug Enforcement Agency,” Conerton said. In other programs, CPASA recently initiated Beverage Alcohol Sellers and Servers Education and Training (BASSET), with a great initial response from local businesses, Conerton said. BASSET training is mandatory in the city of Princeton and highly recommended in the rest of Bureau, Putnam and surrounding counties, she said. In addition, last year’s federal funding enabled CPASA to sponsor 23 students and three adults to the Illinois Teen Institute, a leadership prevention program held at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Conerton said. CPASA also funded several youth-planned and alcohol-free events during the year. Looking to the future, Conerton said CPASA will put the new grant money to good use. “We are going to build on what we’ve done in the past, as well as focus on programs that will affect population-level change,” Conerton said. “One new project will be the development of a plan to help local festival and event planners look more closely at their alcohol-related practices and policies. This funding will enable us to continue to do great things, but we could not do it without our committed coalition members who are truly invaluable.”