10-year McCASA Drug Free Communities Grant changed lives for the better

Reported by Jill Turner, June Schmidt, with Patric Hedlund, TME

It all started with a gamble that failed the first time out.

About 12 years ago, Anne Weber Burnaugh of the Mountain Communities Family Resource Center decided to apply for a “Drug Free Communities” grant.

She hoped to win a slice of the funding pie administered by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Congress allocated funding because 25% of American students ages 13-17 reported using illicit drugs in 2007.

Weber Burnaugh decided this was a good place to apply some of that money to change the trend locally. Her first try failed. Nonetheless…she persisted.
In spring of 2008, local youth in MAT (the Methamphetamine Action Team) held a…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

The ‘Color the Mountain Fun Run’ in 2014 raised funds for a leadership training camp for young teens. Color soared into the air as runners passed the MyC3 (Mountain Youth Can Change Communities) station in the 5K run.

MyC3 youth produced videos and workshops for parents and kids.

Left: MyC3 members’ Sticker Shock campaign.

TeenBeat published the reporting, art, poetry, whimsical stories and inner journeys of young teens. It was an effort to tell their community about the world through their own eyes. From top: Madison Marasa, Joseph Chavez, Rain White, Sierra Kerr and Anthony Levesque

Talented artist and writer Sierra Kerr created this Thanksgiving season drawing.

Above: McCASA members listened as Dixie King, Ph.D., discussed survey results about changing attitudes in the Mountain Communities regarding underage kids’ access to alcohol (l-r, Alicia Menta, King, Anne Weber Burnaugh and Christine Buma). The Mountain Enterprise was a founding member, along with parents, young people and sheriff’s deputies. Left: Anne Burnaugh unveils one of the road signs.

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This is part of the July 5, 2019 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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