The Union County Coalition for the Prevention of Substance was established in 1995 through a grant from the US Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. The Coalition was formed to increase networking among the Municipal Alliances and other agencies in Union County to enhance substance abuse prevention programs being offered to the community. Since its inception, the Coalition has expanded its scope and has reached all sectors of the community through specialized trainings, programs, and community events. The Coalition’s accomplishments have been made possible through the collaborative efforts of over fifty member agencies and organizations.

The Coalition’s action-oriented Task Forces have been created to target specific sectors of the community and provide relevant prevention programs and services. Professional and community members have an opportunity to participate in a Task Force and share their expertise. The six Task Forces include:

• Community Task Force / Childhood Drinking Coalition
• School Task Force
• Violence Prevention /Adolescent Safety Net Task Force
• Parent Task Force
• Faith Based Task Force
• Youth Task Force

Through these task forces, the Coalition helps to enhance the collaboration among the key agencies in our county. Through this collaboration, services provided to the residents of Union County are enhanced. The Coalition utilizes these collaborative efforts to implement environmental strategies to change perceptions among youth and increase the age of onset related to substance abuse. One of the Coalition’s signature community events occurs in October of every year - Red Ribbon Week (October 23-31). This event is an opportunity for the Coalition and the members of Union County to celebrate the successes of the past year and to kick of another exciting year.

The Union County Coalition for the Prevention of Substance Abuse, functioning as an autonomous arm of Prevention Links, Inc. remains committed to providing quality prevention programs to the Union County community. For more information or to join one of our task forces, please contact Michael Litterer at uccoalition@preventionlinks.org.