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State to Fund 3 Drug Prevention Services on Staten Island

By Nicholas Rizzi | August 4, 2015 3:44pm
 Borough President James Oddo announced the state's funding to three groups that provide drug prevention services on Staten Island.
Borough President James Oddo announced the state's funding to three groups that provide drug prevention services on Staten Island.
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DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi

ST. GEORGE — Borough President James Oddo announced state funding for three groups that provide drug treatment prevention services on Staten Island on Tuesday.

The state's Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) awarded grants to United Activities Unlimited (UAU), the YMCA and Tackling Youth Substance Abuse (TYSA) to continue their drug prevention programs on Staten Island.

“These grants are a major step in combating the heroin epidemic on Staten Island,” Oddo said in a statement. “This funding will go a long way in education for adults and children alike on the dangers of drugs and provide needed outlets for children and teens to be involved in positive activities.”

OASAS awarded UAU a four-year, $2.5 million grant to run evidence-based drug prevention classes and prevention counseling services, Oddo said. The grant will let them expand its program that's available at 20 sites during the school year.

“UAU will continue to collaborate with and support the prevention efforts of Borough President Oddo to positively influence the lives of Staten Islanders and to protect our youth from the damaging and life threatening consequences of substance abuse,” said Lou DeLuca, CEO of UAU, in a statement.

TYSA was awarded $627,300, to be distributed over four and a half years, through a federal grant doled out by the state, and the YMCA will receive a yet-to-be-determined amount of money through an RFP, a spokeswoman for OASAS and the YMCA said. Both programs focus on getting younger people to change harmful behaviors and to make good choices.

"OASAS recognized not only the dire need of our community, but also our ability to work together and align government and private resources to address a complex issue," said Adrienne Abbate, director of TYSA, in a statement.

"This funding will allow us to gather meaningful data on prescription drug and heroin use for youth and young adults on a more regular basis," Abbate said. "This information will help our community to better understand the causes of the issue and develop a plan with strategies proven to prevent opioid addiction and related deaths."