Region 3 Prevention Lead Grant

Useful Links

Healthy Lamoille Valley
The Lamoille Family Center
Northeast Prevention Coalition
Umbrella, Inc.
302 Cares
ONE Prevention

Looking for more info?

Click here or email NVPC-PL@nvrh.org.

Together, we can build a prevention network.

Building on the success of the Prevention Center of Excellence from 2020 – 2023, NVRH and its partners are pleased to announce that NVRH has been selected as one of four Prevention Leads throughout the state of Vermont. Using the Strategic Prevention Framework and the Vermont Prevention Model as a foundation, NVRH’s dedicated prevention professionals lead 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 will lead a regional effort to increase the prevention capacity of the St. Johnsbury, Newport and Morrisville Health Districts. These districts will be represented in a new Region 3 Advisory Committee, which will guide 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 will be 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 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
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
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
Kelsey Stavseth, Executive Director, Northeast Kingdom Human Services, Inc.
Kari White, Director of Community Health Equity, Northern Counties Health Care