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Mission

The mission of the Grand Forks Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (SAPC) is to prevent and reduce substance abuse among youth and adults; while promoting health and wellness across the lifespan.

About

Members of the Grand Forks Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (SAPC) want our community’s youth to thrive.

Our coalition’s focus is to promote health and wellness by preventing youth from using alcohol or drugs.

Did you know that a child who gets to age 21 without using tobacco, alcohol or illicit drugs greatly improves their chances of never using or abusing these substances? To prevent youth substance use, our coalition uses proven strategies such as providing information, enhancing skills, and enacting or modifying policies.

For example, to reduce youth access to alcohol, coalition members were instrumental in our community’s adoption of a Responsible Beverage Server Training ordinance and a Social Host ordinance.

SAPC is unique because of the strong partnerships we have with our community’s law enforcement, public schools and university.

We believe the work of our coalition and its partners is responsible, in part, for the substance use rate among Grand Forks youth being below state average.

Even though high-risk alcohol use is common in our community, coalition members continue to concentrate on changing this social norm for the benefit of our youth.

We are looking for concerned and motivated people like you to join our coalition’s efforts to prevent and reduce substance use in Grand Forks.

Some of the ways you can get involved is to assist with coalition activities or serve on one of the following committees:

We hope you will consider joining us in some way to become part of the solution.

Members

The following organizations have representatives serving as SAPC members and provide financial or in-kind support along with other resources:

Anchor Marketing
Altru Health System
City of Grand Forks
Demers Dental
Global Friends Coalition
Grand Forks County Juvenile Court
Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Department
Grand Forks Optimist Club
Grand Forks Kiwanis Club
Grand Forks Park District
Grand Forks Police Department
Grand Forks Public Health Department
Grand Forks Public Schools
Grand Forks Youth Commission
Leighton Broadcasting
Northeast Human Service Center
Sharon Lutheran Church
University of North Dakota

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Marketing/Media

Data/Evaluation

Policy/Environmental Strategies

Prevention Initiatives

In 2018, SAPC was awarded a Drug Free Communities Grant.

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, created by the Drug-Free Communities Act of 1997, is the Nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use. Directed by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the DFC Program provides funding to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.

Our current initiative is focused on prevention/reduction of youth substance abuse in three areas: alcohol, marijuana and vaping/nicotine. An overarching campaign with the theme "Fake/Fact" was created to help educate teenagers (middle school to high school) about common misperceptions associated with each substance.

Underage Drinking

Marijuana

Tobacco/Nicotine/Vaping

Youth Groups

The Grand Forks Youth Commission

The Grand Forks Youth Commission is a "cooperative coalition of youth and adult mentors working to enhance the lives of Grand Forks Youth." It is a joint partnership between the Grand Public Schools district and the city of Grand Forks. Established in 2007, the GF Youth Commission exists to identify, promote, improve, increase and provide services and programs for young people in Grand Forks. The GF Youth Commission is a group of about 24 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 who advise the Mayor and the Grand Forks City Council and advocate on behalf of youth in the community. It is a diverse group of youth representing many perspectives, ages and backgrounds. It is also an important way for youth to be actively involved in decisions of community entities that affect youth. The GF Youth Commissioners develop leadership skills, encourage other young people to get involved, and voice concerns and needs of our young people. The primary objectives of the GF Youth Commission are based on the Five Promises of America's Promise:

Caring Adults
Safe Places
A Healthy Start
An Effective Education
Opportunities to Help Others

Youth Gaining Opportunities, Recognition, and Skills (YORS)

YORS stands for "Youth Gaining Opportunities, Recognition and Skills". It is sponsored by the Grand Forks Public Schools in partnership with the City of Grand Forks. YORS is a group of students from every middle and high school in the Grand Forks Public Schools system. The groups work at the building level to enhance the work of the Grand Forks Youth Commission. YORS helps to make this community a better place to practice healthy choices and reduce health risk behaviors that influence youth. YORS supports the ongoing goal of the Grand Forks Youth Commission to positively change the prevalence of alcohol use within the community by encouraging alcohol-free events to delay the age of first use, reduce alcohol use among young people who have already tried drinking and reduce the number of alcohol-related problems of young people.

Helping Hands

The Grand Forks Public Schools' Helping Hands Program is a summer student volunteer program for students in grade 6-12. It gives them the opportunity to volunteer at over 40 local non-profit agencies in our community. This experience looks great on college applications and future job applications. The GFPS Helping Hands program has been in existence since 2001. This program is a character-building opportunity. Young people learn why and how to care for the needs of the greater community by committing to volunteer. This program creates wonderful opportunities for service learning that last a lifetime and also serves as a protective factor providing a healthy alternative to using alcohol or other drugs.