Peacemaker Youth Initiative

The OJJDP FY 2020 Opioid Affected Youth Initiative (OAYI) will support the efforts of states, communities, tribal jurisdictions, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations and institutions of higher education to implement programs and strategies that identify, respond to, treat, and support children, youth, and families impacted by the opioid epidemic.

The Vanderburgh County Peacemaker Youth Initiative will use funding to provide programs and services to youth and families impacted by opioid addiction through classroom instruction and engaging afterschool programs. The Vanderburgh County Peacemaker Youth Initiative will target the Cedar Hall neighborhood in Evansville, a neighborhood with high opioid overdose rates, high poverty rates, low percentages of residents earning a high school diploma or GED, low median household incomes, and high crime statistics related to drug possession. Peacemakers will be deployed into first, second, third, and fifth grade classrooms at Cedar Hall Community School for 4 hours of student-focused academic and personal development sessions in connection with instruction identified by the Cedar Hall teacher. CA/NCF