PA Harm Reduction Grants That Could Help Working Parents

Pennsylvania harm reduction grants could help working parents in the fight to keep their children safe from opioid exposure.

Through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD) comes the Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction (SAEDR) grant, with a goal of educating the public on the dangers of substance abuse, as well as lower the demand for harmful substances through education and awareness programs.

SAEDR grants could be used to create a Parent Partner Coalition through the United Advocates for Children and Families as part of a collaboration with employers. The coalitions advocate for families in the community to provide services and partnerships with health care providers, mental health providers and school personnel, and provide advocacy and support for Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

Fundable projects under the harm reduction grants are divided into three categories:

Category #1: Grants are awarded to create and sustain additional Pennsylvania Communities That Care (CTC) sites, which are community “operating systems” designed to prevent adolescent problem behaviors and promote positive youth development.

Category #2: Harm reduction grants in this area are awarded to nonprofit organizations to create and develop programs with the goal of educating young people, caregivers and employers about the dangers of substance abuse. This could include media-related efforts such as public service announcements, public awareness campaigns and media literacy.

Category #3: In this category, harm reduction grant funds should be used to educate employers, unions and employees about the prevalence and risk of substance abuse in the workplace, and provide resources and programs for businesses to help reduce the risk, including offering training for working parents that may help keep their children drug-free.

While funds cannot be awarded directly to a government entity, they can partner with a nonprofit organization to receive and utilize grant funds.

The estimated deadline to apply for a SAEDR grant is December 2018.

Apply for a SAEDR grant online through the PCCD eGrants website.