The Story of the SAFE Grant County Coalition

Once upon a time in Grant County, there were three coalitions who did wonderful work. There was the Safe Communities coalition, which focused on seatbelt awareness, child passenger safety, drunk driving, and underage drinking. There was another coalition, the Roundtable, which focused on reducing underage drinking and promoting positive youth development. There was also the Tobacco-Free coalition, which focused on preventing/reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. These coalitions often worked together as they planned youth leadership conferences, assisted local youth groups, did compliance checks together, and the list went on.

One day in 2004, there was an announcement of a grant for $100,000. These coalitions talked about the possibility of writing it together as they realized that they needed each other due to the grant’s multi-drug focus. So…Voila! The idea of a large coalition that encompassed all three coalitions was born. Since they were applying for funding from the Drug Free Communities Support program and they needed to keep their name broad enough to encompass all of their objectives, they called themselves the Grant County Drug Free Coalition. They combined their meetings, objectives, and together they applied for the grant. To their amazement, they received the $100,000 Drug Free Communities Support Program grant. Now as one coalition, they work on the initiatives and objectives together. In 2008, the name was changed to S.A.F.E Grant County Coalition to better reflect all the aspects of the coalition. S.A.F.E stands for Safe Actions For Everyone. The three original coalition’s work is still being done in the combined coalition along with new initiatives. See further links for specifics about programs and projects.