PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – The City of Delray Beach has awarded $34,800 to five nonprofit agencies to administer substance abuse training and education for school-aged children. The grant dollars were made available for the City to distribute after the Caron Foundation could no longer provide the training as part of a lawsuit settlement. The grants will help provide preventive substance abuse programs to approximately 825 children attending a school or after-school program in Delray Beach.

The Horses Healing Hearts, a non-profit agency, will use their grant dollars to mentor children whose parents suffer from alcoholism and substance abuse, while the other agencies, the Milagro Center, KOPMN, Living Skills in the Schools, and Literacy Coalition of the Palm Beach Counties will provide educational programming to help build self-esteem and teach skills to minimize bullying.

“The Milagro Center is thrilled to have received this grant from the City of Delray Beach. By providing living values classes and drug prevention workshops, we will empower our youth and teens to make positive choices and building their self-esteem so that they become leaders rather than followers.” said Barbara Stark, President and CEO of the Milagro Center. “The classes will help to teach children ways to minimize and eliminate bullying, build positive self-esteem and educate students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.”

The City put out a request to the public for grants applications in August 2017. To qualify for consideration, the organization must have a history of providing training and educational programs for at least two years that help support the prevention of substance abuse for school-aged children. Training and education programs can include but are not limited to topics on self-esteem, feelings, bullying, family strengthening, mentoring, peer pressure, and coping mechanisms.