Region 3 Prevention Lead Grant
Together, we can build a prevention network.
Using the Strategic Prevention Framework and the Vermont Prevention Model as a foundation, NVRH and its partners are one of four Prevention Leads throughout the state of Vermont, and are leading the region in its efforts to address substance misuse among all ages.
The Prevention Lead grant from the Vermont Department of Health, Division of Substance Use Programs, is in the amount of $1.2 million dollars. Thanks to this grant, NVRH leads a regional effort to increase the prevention capacity of the St. Johnsbury, Newport, and Morrisville Health Districts. These districts are represented in a Region 3 Advisory Committee, which guides the regional work that includes decisions about competitive and noncompetitive subawards based on a needs assessment conducted within the first few months of the grant.
The grant is for a period of two years.
Region 3 Prevention Lead Coordination Team
Jessica Bickford
Coalition Coordinator, Certified Prevention Specialist
Healthy Lamoille Valley
jessica@healthylamoillevalley.org
Cheryl Chandler
Prevention Program Coordinator
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital
C.Chandler@NVRH.org
Amanda Cochrane
Executive Director
Umbrella Inc.
amandac@umbrellanek.org
Kathrin Lawlor
Prevention Consultant
Division of Substance Use Programs (DSU)
Vermont Department of Health
Kathrin.lawlor@vermont.gov
Roynell Sanders, BSW
Public Health Specialist II
Division of Substance Use Programs (DSU)
Vermont Department of Health
Roynell.Sanders@vermont.gov
Carolyn Towne
Director of Substance Misuse Prevention
Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital
C.Towne@NVRH.org
FY 2025 Subrecipients
Newport Health District
Coventry Village School received $10,000 to continue supporting and educating students in grades six through eight about substance use and misuse. They will contract with Journey to Recovery Community Center to continue this programming.
Lake Region Union High School received $15,307 to continue providing prevention and early intervention supports and curriculum to students, including embedding Peer Support Recovery Coaches in the school part-time. The school is contracting with Journey to Recovery Community Center.
St. Johnsbury Health District
Kingdom East School District (KESD) received $15,885 for PROSPER (Promoting School Partnerships to Encourage Resilience). PROSPER is an empirically validated delivery system for supporting sustained, effective delivery of evidence-based programs (Strengthening Families Program 10 – 14 and Life Skills Training) for middle school youth and their families. Specifically, PROSPER is a collaboration between the University of Vermont – Extension, the Kingdom East School District and the community that builds strong families and youth, by developing better family communication, empathy, and skills needed to avoid risky behaviors.
The HUB received $15,151 to continue their project providing a welcoming and safe space for community members, likely living at or below the poverty line, to enjoy a meal together or take the prepared meal out to enjoy later. This project will involve local community volunteers to prepare, cook, package ready to-go meals and deliver meals to the HUB for distribution on a weekly basis.
Morrisville Health District
Hazen Union School received $15,000 to establish a school-based Student Wellness Center that will provide a safe space for holistic student support, allowing students to learn and develop tools to manage emotions, cultivate healthy coping mechanisms, and mitigate stress.
Hyde Park Elementary School (HPES) received $15,000 to build on their School House System implemented this past January with great success. These Houses will continue to act as their “school family” during all their years at HPES. This system builds character, encourages academic excellence, fosters school spirit, strengthens relationships and promotes a culture of belonging for all.
The Center for Agricultural Economy received $11,000 to build on work begun in the community through the FY24 grant award. The project fosters social connection, addresses needs identified by the community and emphasizes assets using a big picture approach.
Newport and St. Johnsbury Health Districts
Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) received $18,718 to expand on the FY24 grant award to implement a training plan. This plan includes recruiting an NKHS employee to become a nationally certified instructor in Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA) to offer adults that interact with Northeast Kingdom (NEK) youth the opportunity to learn how to help when youth experience mental health or substance misuse challenges. This certification plan includes teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) to offer high school teens the opportunity to learn how to build a community of support for their peers. QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) certification will allow the instructor to co-present suicide prevention awareness introductory training for anyone.
Umbrella received $14,930 to fund an integrated approach for addressing risk and protective factors for individuals who are experiencing domestic/sexual violence and who have a history of substance misuse. They will utilize the needs assessment data collected from their FY24 grant award as the foundation for building a coordinated community response model. The focus will be on prevention strategies to reduce the identified risk factors and system improvements that support protective factors for survivors.
Morrisville and St. Johnsbury Health Districts
DREAM Program received $20,000 to support continuation of their “Guided Mentoring” program, which is an in school, curriculum-based, peer-to-peer mentoring program that explores four key themes: mentoring strategy, identity, sense of place, and purpose.
St. Johnsbury, Newport and Morrisville Health Districts
Coalitions Northeast Prevention Coalition, 302 Cares, ONE Prevention and Healthy Lamoille Valley received $100,000 per Health District with an additional $7,000 to each health district to increase supports for LGBTQIA+ youth. Funding for coalitions supports ongoing and sustainable substance misuse prevention work in their respective communities. Coalitions implement evidence-based practices aimed at promoting protective factors and reducing risk factors across the lifespan.
FY 2024 Subrecipients
Newport Health District
Coventry Village School received $4,996 to support and educate students in grades six through eight about substance use and misuse. They will contract with Journey to Recovery Community Center to replicate a successful program at North Country High School.
Journey to Recovery received $10,000 for a social detox bed, open and available to adults in the midst of substance crisis. The program offers many protective factors such as an introduction to alternative stress management skills, sober lifestyle, and providing support for goal setting and achievement.
Lake Region Union High School received $10,000 to support and educate students in grades 9 –12 about substance use and misuse. The school is contracting with Journey to Recovery.
North Country Supervisory Union Encore Program received $5,000 to hire more high school staff to work in Encore Afterschool programs. These programs give students leadership opportunities, connections to their communities and healthy relationships with their adult co-workers – who often act as mentors.
St. Johnsbury Health District
Forestville Foundation Inc./Craftsbury Public House and POWERED Magazine received $10,000 to support underrepresented vulnerable adult community members with building life and job skills to bring back to their local communities to become vibrant champions and drive inclusive growth.
Stable Connections received $10,000 for their program, Leading the Way, which offers a unique opportunity for experiential learning with a strong focus on strengthening an individual’s confidence, connectedness, character and leadership skills.
The HUB received $9,978 to provide a welcoming and safe space for community members, likely living at or below the poverty line, to enjoy a meal together or take the prepared meal out to enjoy later. This project will involve local community volunteers to prepare, cook, package ready to-go meals and deliver meals to the HUB for distribution on a weekly basis.
Catamount Arts received $7,362 to fund continued programming at Catamount Arts Open Stage, a substance free alternative for youth. The program promotes community building and increases feelings of value, connection and support among area youth and the adults who work with them.
Morrisville Health District
Lamoille County Mental Health received $10,000 to develop a Risk Assessment Protocol with one school in Orleans South Supervisory Union. It involves an early intervention approach focused on connecting and supporting high risk students early on to prevent future violence.
Lamoille South Supervisory Union received $7,395 for the Lamoille South Love, Inclusion, Trust project, which seeks to create a more inclusive environment where all adults and youth feel a sense of connectedness and belonging so they can thrive in the classrooms and beyond.
Hyde Park Elementary School (HPES) received $9,976 to support all students and staff members who will be “sorted” into five “Houses” by January 2024. These Houses will act as their “school family” during all their years at HPES. This system builds character, encourages academic excellence, fosters school spirit, strengthens relationships and promotes a culture of belonging for all.
The Center for Agricultural Economy received $9,953 to fund staff time and supplies needed to conduct one-on-one and group listening sessions with adults and youth focused on substance use, including those with lived experience, to understand challenges, goals, and ways to connect.
Newport and St. Johnsbury Health Districts
Northeast Kingdom Human Services (NKHS) received $9,983 to aid in prevention of substance misuse with local high school youth. They will use The Prime for Life® education program for groups of ten students ages 14 to 19 for four 10-week sessions, reaching 40 students. They will also use funds for disseminating care bags to homeless children and youth as well as medication lock bags.
Umbrella received $6,875 to conduct a community needs assessment focused on the inter-relationship between substance misuse and intimate partner/sexual violence and how, from a holistic perspective, this affects risk and protective factors.
Morrisville and St. Johnsbury Health Districts
DREAM Program received $10,000 for DREAM’s “Guided Mentoring” program, which is an in-school, curriculum-based, peer-to-peer mentoring program that explores four key themes: mentoring strategy, identity, sense of place, and purpose.
St. Johnsbury, Newport and Morrisville Health Districts
Coalitions Northeast Prevention Coalition, 302 Cares, ONE Prevention and Healthy Lamoille Valley received $75,000 per Health District with additional $5,000 to Morrisville and Newport Health Districts to support smaller community projects. Funding for coalitions supports ongoing and sustainable substance misuse prevention work in their respective communities. Coalitions implement evidence-based practices aimed at promoting protective factors and reducing factors across the lifespan.
Advisory Committee
An Advisory Committee has been appointed to bring unique knowledge and skills and multi-sector input to the Prevention Lead Organization Grant.
Members include:
- Constance Anderson, Executive Director, Northeast Kingdom Youth Services
- Dawn Arenas, Adult Outpatient Program Manager, Northeast Kingdom Human Services
- Justin (Tin) Barton-Caplin, Director, Newport Office of the Vermont Department of Health
- Arial Beaulac, Recovery Coach, Kingdom Recovery Center
- Lila Bennett, Executive Director, Journey to Recovery Community Center
- Meg Burmeister, Executive Director, Northeast Kingdom Council on Aging
- Shannon Carchidi, Executive Director, North Central Vermont Recovery Center
- Juliet Emas, Executive Director, St. Johnsbury Community Hub
- Sasha Emerson, Behavioral Health Program Coordinator, Little Rivers Health Care
- Aaron French, Director, Morrisville Office of the Vermont Department of Health
- Jenn Holton-Clapp, Chief Operating Officer, Lamoille Home Health & Hospice
- Heather Lindstrom, Director, St. Johnsbury Office of the Vermont Department of Health
- Dave McAllister, Director, Laraway Youth and Family Services
- Christopher Mitchell, Agency of Human Services Field Director, Newport & St. Johnsbury
- Meghan Rodier, Planning Lead on Health Equity, Lamoille County Planning Commission
- Kari White, Director of Community Health Equity, Northern Counties Health Care
Responsibilities
For a description of the Advisory Committee member responsibilities, click here.
Strategic Plan
View and download the Needs and Disparities Statement here.
NEK PCE 2022-2024 Strategic Plan – click here to download
Resources
Data
Region 3 Scorecards:
Learn more.
Click here or email NVPC-PL@nvrh.org.