JACKSON - ANTI-DRUG GROUP RECEIVES $83K GRANT FOR CAMPAIGN

The Anti-Drug Coalition of Jackson-Madison County received a
financial boost from the United States Department of Justice to aid
in its drug awareness campaign for West Tennessee youth.

For two years the coalition has worked with various programs such as
Operation Hope, a youth based tutorial and after-school program. The
coalition has also been involved with family counseling services and
helped produce drug awareness literature.

A grant in the amount of $83,404 was awarded to the program last
month. Officials said the funding is important for the group to reach
its goals.

"Anything that can be done to keep the issue of alcohol and drug
abuse before the public is extremely necessary," said Hilda Little,
coordinator.

The coalition meets every second Tuesday of each month and has about
50 community members including Jackson-Madison County Metro Narcotics
Investigator Lt. Barry Michael who leads a class for parents in
detecting drug use in their children.

"I've been helping out for about a year," Michael said. "I try to
help parents look for symptoms or behavior that could possibly mean
their kids are involved in drugs."

The coalition has four major objectives: awareness; collaboration
with other agencies; prevention and working with families. Little
said the coalition is available to conduct seminars for outside
groups and organizations on anti-drug awareness.