The Newtown Prevention Council discussed its upcoming work at its meeting on Thursday, November 19.

Newtown Police Chief Michael Kehoe was acknowledged at the meeting for his service on the council. While he could not attend the meeting, it would have been his final meeting with the council.

Judy Blanchard, who served as his co-chair on the council until the meeting, shared her appreciation for his service. Donna Culbert will serve as the co-chair in Chief Kehoe’s absence for the rest of the year, according to Ms Blanchard.

Ms Blanchard also reminded the council its elections will be held in March.

“We’re always looking for people to step up,” said Ms Blanchard.

Council members also spoke about its Community Strengthening Coalitions (CSC) grant through the Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services (DHMAS).

“As we end the Drug-Free Communities grant… we are very fortunate to have a DHMAS grant able to support us for the upcoming years,” said Ms Blanchard, before council members were asked to share thoughts about the council’s role in the community.

Ms Blanchard asked the members to keep data from the most recent drug and alcohol use surveys, prepared by Quantitative Services, in mind while thinking of the council’s priorities.

Members discussed a number of ideas for the council before Newtown Youth & Family Services’s Matt Arinello, who also serves as grant coordinator for the council, spoke about the council’s focus with the DHMAS grant.

While Mr Arinello said the council will want to focus on other initiatives, the DHMAS grant will need the council to focus on one data driven initiative.

Mr Arinello also explained ten communities receive the CSC grant.

“The goals of the CSC initiative are to prevent and reduce the progression of substance abuse, and to promote positive mental health at the community level,” said Mr Arinello.

The first portion of the CSC grant work is wrapping up with a community needs assessment, according to Mr Arinello, who said the recent drug and alcohol surveys were used for those efforts along with interviewing ten students at Newtown High School.

“All of our data suggests alcohol is still a priority… This is a data-driven grant,” said Mr Arinello.

Members were asked to work in groups to discuss underage drinking risk factors before the end of the meeting.

At the council’s next meeting, Mr Arinello said a strategic plan will need to be prepared for the DHMAS grant.