A Chance to Change Foundation recently received $40,000 grant from the Oklahoma City Community Foundation and its Access to Health Care iFund grant program.
The grant will be go toward the A Chance to SUCCEED program and allow the foundation to increase services to the adolescents it serves.
A Chance to SUCCEED is a proactive program designed to provide teachers, parents and students with free education, prevention and intervention for alcohol and drug addicition problems through partnerships with metropolitan area schools.
The program makes it possible for at-risk students to get free help without leaving the school grounds; it is designed to reduce the deaths and other tragedies associated with substance abuse by youth in Oklahoma.
Jo Ann Pearce, executive director of A Chance to Change, said in a news release that adolescents have easy access to alcohol and drugs, which is causing deaths, accidents and early addiction.
“Almost all addicts start using as teenagers,” she said. “We appreciate the opportunity to provide our program to more teens, due to this Access to Health Care Grant.”
A majority of schools in the SUCCEED partnership are located in low-income areas, and participating districts include Western Heights, Putnam City, Edmond, and Oklahoma City.
A Chance to Change Foundation has provided substance abuse prevention and early intervention programs, as well as addiction education and counseling for people of all ages for nearly 33 years.
A Chance to Change also provides counseling for trauma, depression, and other behavioral health issues.