New Haven Mentoring with NIA

The Governor’s Prevention Partnership (The Partnership) is the lead applicant and fiduciary. The Partnership is a statewide nonprofit that has a 33-year history of addressing substance use issues and threats affecting young people in Connecticut. The Partnership works to increase the number of youth who have positive connections through effective mentoring. This project (New Haven Mentoring with NIA) focuses on the City of New Haven in New Haven County, Connecticut. The project will target 9th – 12th grade students in New Haven Public Schools high schools such as James Hillhouse High School, Wilbur Cross, Riverside Academy, and High School in the Community. Primary partners include New Haven Public Schools, Urban Community Alliance (mentoring subrecipient), Phenomenal Am I (mentoring subrecipient), and The Children’s Center of Hamden (substance use treatment provider). New Haven Mentoring with NIA will expand and implement its three-tiered prevention approach. Tier I uses The Partnership’s E3: Encourage, Empower, Engage substance use prevention program to increase awareness of harm of drugs and alcohol at both the school and community level. Tier II uses a one-on-one mentoring strategy to connect with students who have been impacted by opioids but are not currently using. Tier III focuses on students who currently use or have used opiates. The long-term outcome is to reduce opioid use among adolescents and young adults. Over the course of the project period, partners will build 180 mentoring relationships, train 30 student peer leaders to facilitate interactive group activities, and increase the connectedness with school staff, caring adults, and community.