Establishment
- October 18, 1988- Established as the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Council
- The coalition is a town commission
- Mayor designates Youth Services Bureau Director as chairperson
- Small group, only receiving Local Prevention Council funds through the Regional Behavioral Health Action Organization
Partnership & Funding
- 2017- Partner with The Village for Families and Children, awarded funding through the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS)
- First State funding, now Federal funding through the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), allows full time staff to support the work of these grants. The Project Director works directly in partnership with the Chairperson to lead the coalition.
- Focus on a model that includes recruiting all 12 sectors to be part of the coalition. Having representation from the 12 sectors brings a variety of perspectives and community representation
- Youth
- Parents
- Businesses
- Media
- School
- Youth Serving Organizations
- Law enforcement
- Religious/ Fraternal organizations
- Civic and volunteer organizations
- Healthcare professionals
- State, local, and Tribal governments
- Other organizations involved in reducing substance use
- Target substances: alcohol, nonmedical use of prescription drugs
Rebranding
- 2018- rebranded coalition to Vernon ROCKS Coalition
- Used focus group of students from Rockville High School and Vernon Center Middle School
- Was determined that youth, especially athletes, took a lot of pride in “the rock” in town and wanted to use that as an acronym
- Developed ROCKS as Resources and Outreach for Community Knowledge and Success
- Worked with local marketing company to rebrand coalition logo
- Launched coalition website
- Youth group Real Talk was formed because youth began to closely identify with the campaign they developed
- 2019- launched first social marketing campaign called “Real Talk”
- 2019- Awarded funding through Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Target substance: alcohol
- Formed formal partnership with Manchester, creating the Manchester Vernon Prevention Partnership (MVPP)
View our Vernon ROCKS brochure here: Vernon ROCKS Brochure
Vernon ROCKS is funded by:
- The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), awarded to The Village for Families and Children.
- Local Prevention Council grant through AMPLIFY
Revised May 2022
