Youth Council teams with LB

The Long Beach Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking received a $27,500 grant to mentor the Rockville Centre Youth Council. The grant came from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.

“We are so excited to have this opportunity to work with the Rockville Centre community,” said Judi Vining, the Long Beach Coalition’s executive director. “Our two communities face very similar problems when it comes to underage drinking and are also similar in that they both have their own law enforcement agencies — a critical partner in combating underage drinking.”

The Rockville Centre Youth Council was formed in 2009 due to concern about drinking and underage drug use. Andrea Connolly, newly installed chair of the Rockville Centre Youth Council, said she “welcomes the opportunity to work with Long Beach, and learn from each other about strategies that work — as well as those that don’t.”

The mentoring grant is designed so that established coalitions can assist younger ones to be able to apply for Drug Free Communities Grants. The Long Beach Coalition received Drug Free Communities grants from 2003 to 2013 — the maximum number of years allowed. During that period, the Long Beach Community received more than 1 million dollars for substance abuse prevention.