The River Coalition became a Communities for Children Partner Community in 2000. Incorporated in 1995 as a coalition of local action groups, the River Coalition serves the Penobscot River towns of Alton, Bradley, Greenbush, Indian Island, Milford and Old Town. Using the Communities That Care model and funded by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse, this coalition collected archival data and surveyed the community about nineteen factors that put youth at risk for problem behaviors.

Next, numerous focus groups were held and a Comprehensive Community Prevention Plan developed. The plan has three major goals: to strengthen youth connections with families, schools and communities; to strengthen family management (parenting skills); and to strengthen family relations (conflict resolution skills). In 1998, about 50 volunteers representing all six River Coalition towns signed on to champion the fourteen different objectives in their Plan that were designed to impact these three major goals.

In 1999, the River Coalition was awarded a Drug-Free Communities Act Grant for $100,000 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Collaboration expanded to include the University of Maine community, which helped with public relations work, and Penquis CAP, which served as a referral source for the parenting program. The River Coalition also wrote a successful grant application to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the Town of Milford that allowed them to offer a Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs summer program to area middle school students.

Early in 2000, the River Coalition became a C4C partner and joined with two other C4C Partner Communities to obtain a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Designed to foster infrastructure development that would support prevention efforts in all six communities, this PRISM grant will enable this community to develop prevention strategies for children from birth to age 18. The grant has already allowed the River Coalition to hire a full time Director of Programs who will oversee the numerous programs currently in place, develop new programs, and implement a strategy to ensure ongoing sustainability.

The above-mentioned underage drinking task force, whose members are Old Town High School students and area adults, is about to unveil a collaborative program with the Old Town Police Department called the Key Program. Designed to discourage parties in residences when parents are away, it entails parents notifying police when they are to be away and gives the police permission to enter their residence with a designated adult to investigate where there is suspicion that underage drinking is occurring. This close and successful partnership has caught the attention of other law enforcement agencies that are interested in expanding the program to their areas. The youth recently were invited to address the Old Town City Council and provide an update on the Key Program. Several youth spoke at the Council meeting and drew favorable reaction from the Council and positive local press coverage.

The River Coalition C4C has established very effective relationships with the University of Maine and area schools, law enforcement, and social service agencies, both public and private. The Old Town-Orono YMCA provides highly visible and accessible office space as an in-kind donation. The Indian Island Health Center and the Old Town Library generously provides meeting space. The Old Town School System allows use of its high-speed copying machine and meeting space. Crossroads Ministries supplies information about and programming advice for the area’s disadvantaged population. The River Coalition is represented on a number of committees in the communities we serve and is seen as a great resource. This is due to the programs they support or deliver, but equally important, to the sharing of the comprehensive database collected as a result of community surveys and focus groups.

The partnership with C4C has been a great benefit to coalition efforts. The River Coalition is currently interviewing to fill a VISTA position that came through the Communities for Children VISTA Project. Through the PRISM grant, this C4C is introducing The Healthy Learners Program to area elementary schools this spring with the goal of implementing this highly effective program in at least two schools in the fall or winter of 2001. Being a C4C partner has provided opportunities to network with other organizations and youth-related efforts around the state, collaborate on grant opportunities, enhance connections with state-level activities, and represent the people of the River Coalition’s area communities at statewide forums.

Contact River Coalition C4C: