Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel announced that Westchester County was awarded two grants totaling $224,994, from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), to involve and engage the community to prevent and reduce alcohol and other drug abuse among youth.

The two grants awarded to Westchester to supplement the Drug Free Communities Support Program are:

• $125,000 to the City of Mount Vernon’s Youth Bureau and its Mount Vernon Community That Cares program.
• $99,994 to the County of Westchester.

Rep. Engel said, “I am pleased to be able to support families in Westchester County by helping to fight drug abuse and curb the destruction it causes families. I applaud the work done by the hard-working professionals in Westchester County, and in Mount Vernon, who fight every day to help people shake the scourge of drug addiction. I am also thankful for the dedication of the county and city police forces who patrol the streets daily, and wage the constant battle to remove drugs from our communities. Hopefully, these funds will assist them in their efforts.”

The Mount Vernon Youth Bureau has received Drug Free Communities funding for the past seven years. “The Drug-Free Communities Program and other drug prevention efforts are important elements of a balanced national drug control strategy. Mount Vernon Community That Cares is doing crucial drug prevention work in our community and this additional influx of Federal money will help them expand their efforts and reach more of Mount Vernon’s children,” said Mount Vernon Mayor Clinton I. Young, Jr.

The principal purpose of ONDCP is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nation's drug control program. The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences.