County, reservation receive grant to reduce binge drinking, drunk driving

They're two of the biggest problems in the region - binge drinking and drunk driving - but local prevention specialists hope to change that through a federal grant awarded last month.

The Flathead Reservation and Lake, Lincoln, Sanders and Mineral counties were named the recipients of a $2 million grant that aims to reduce heavy drinking and drunk driving throughout the region. The grant's target audience is students and young adults, but grant administrators will also implement programs that address the problem of over-consumption of alcohol in the population as a whole.

The Coalition for Kids will oversee the grant application for the reservation and the four counties, one of six regions around the state to benefit from the grant.

The money comes from a federal grant called the Strategic Prevention Framework State Incentive Grant that was awarded to Montana's Addictive and Mental Disorders Division and four other states in July 2005. Using that grant money, state officials began analyzing data showing problem drinking trends around the state, and the most recent funding reflects an emphasis on reducing binge drinking and drunk driving throughout Montana.

The $2 million grant is a big boon to the Coalition, which was just voted non-profit organization of the year by Polson Chamber of Commerce members. Coalition members were told they'd won at the annual Chamber awards ceremony Feb. 16.

“It was a real honor to receive that award, and this large grant shows that the state has faith in our ability to use the money to continue to implement positive programs for the four counties and the Flathead Reservation as a whole,” Coalition executive director Julie Berry said. “We're excited about the opportunity to make positive changes that reduce binge drinking and drunk driving among students and young adults, and we'll be helping each county and the reservation address those issues in its adult population, too.”

Coalition for Kids program managers in each county will be working closely with state officials to provide leadership and strategies that help guide public policies and community norms.

Over the next three years, Coalition members will collect data, gather input from the community and design strategies aimed at reducing binge drinking and drunk driving among students and young adults, while trying to address the overall problem of overdrinking that each county, and the reservation, is facing in their adult populations.

In order to be successful, Coalition representatives would like to gather input from parents, school officials, law enforcement and other community leaders, and to educate them about the grant's focus. The Coalition for Kids will officially kick off that effort with two community-wide “town hall” meetings in Eureka on March 31 and Libby on April 1, featuring former New York Jets football player Dennis O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan is a motivational speaker who tours the country talking to students and parents about making positive choices with their lives.

The town hall meetings are free and open to the public, and are being funded by the Coalition for Kids with support from local school districts and Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic. Parents and community leaders are invited to share their concerns about binge drinking, ask questions and hear more about the grant. More details about the forums, and Mr. O'Sullivan's presentation, will be available later in March as the meeting times approach.

For more information, contact Maggie Anderson, at 293-3005 or Ralph Stever, at 293-7731.