Williams announces $99K grant for Downingtown

DOWNINGTOWN, Sept. 8 – State Rep. Dan Williams, D-Chester, announced today that Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency has approved the Chester County Intermediate Unit #24 request of $99,705 in federal SOR funds to implement the LifeSkills Training program in the middle and high schools of 12 school districts.

LST is a classroom-based tobacco-, alcohol-, and drug abuse–prevention program for upper elementary and junior high school students. LST targets students who have not yet initiated substance use or are early-stage users with the goal of preventing or ending tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse by raising student awareness of the negative consequences of substance use, encouraging the resistance of social influences to drink, smoke, use illicit drugs or engage in aggressive or violence-related behaviors and more.  

“This federal grant money will help educate our children of the dangers to body and spirit of cigarette, alcohol and illegal drug use,” Williams said. “I hope this program will teach our children that their lives are simply too valuable to risk by indulging in such dangerous behaviors.”

Through this initiative, Chester County Intermediate Unit #24 will coordinate implementation of LST within each school district. The funds will be used for the following: LifeSkills Training curriculum, materials, training, staff time dedicated to the implementation of the program, and indirect costs.

Further, more than $22.3 million was awarded to several organizations across the state that are dedicated to breaking cycles of violence and substance abuse in their communities.

In addition to grants for local programs, the PCCD awarded Penn State University $100,000 to enhance its statewide Pennsylvania Youth Survey, or PAYS, which surveys students in the 6th, 8th, 10th and 12th grades to learn about their behaviors, attitudes and knowledge about alcohol, tobacco, other drugs and violence; $900,000 to the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance for its statewide efforts to provide drug and alcohol professionals free materials about opioid addiction to distribute in in their communities; $640,000 to the Council of State Governments Justice Center for its Pennsylvania Stepping up Technical Assistance Center, part of a national initiative to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in prisons; and $632,135 to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape for its Sexual Assault Services Program.

More information about the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency is available here.