Coalition

Watch our coalition video here.

In 2006, with support from NY State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), Riverhead CAP established the Riverhead Community Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Youth. Partnering with Riverhead Central School District, Riverhead and Southampton Towns, Riverhead Police Department, Riverhead and Southampton Youth Bureaus, Peconic Bay Medical Center, Riverhead First Baptist and United Methodist Churches, local businesses, the medical community, parents, civic groups, youth, health and human service agencies, and community volunteers, we partner to create lasting community changes that reduce youth access to alcohol and other drugs.

The mission of the Riverhead Community Coalition for Safe and Drug-Free Youth is to engage collaborative partners in the planning, implementation and evaluation of strategies that prevent youth substance use.

In 2013 and again in 2018, the coalition received a five-year Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Grant through the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to increase coalition capacity and community-based prevention initiatives. The objectives identified in our Action Plan are to decrease underage drinking, non-medical use of prescription drugs, and youth marijuana and vape use.

In 2019, the coalition was named Coalition of the Year by CADCA, the nation’s leading drug prevention organization. The award was for demonstrating positive long-term outcomes in reducing underage drinking from 2008-2018. This was the third consecutive Coalition of Excellence Award for the coalition, which was also recognized for short-term outcomes in 2017, and intermediate outcomes in 2018 for reducing prescription drug abuse. In 2017, the coalition was named NY National Guard Counterdrug Task Force 2017 Community-Based Organization of the Year honor.