CLEAR Alliance Non-Profit receives the “Outstanding Public Safety/Public Health Collaborative Effort” Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy

On the evening of February 6th 2020, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director Jim Carroll recognized individuals and initiatives of the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program for outstanding work in reducing drug trafficking and production in the United States. Children Learning through Education And Research (CLEAR) Alliance, Oregon’s statewide educational non-profit based in Central Oregon, was thrilled to learn they had been selected as one of the national award winners. CLEAR Alliance received HIDTA’s national award for “Outstanding Public Safety/Public Health Collaborative Effort” for its Tobacco Marijuana & E-cigarettes Course (TMEC) and instructor training. TMEC was piloted in the Redmond School District and was then expanded statewide. CLEAR Alliance currently has 179 TMEC Instructors in 32 of Oregon’s 36 counties.

The HIDTA program, which includes 33 HIDTAs in 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia, provides assistance to specific agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.

CLEAR Alliance provides fact-based drug education to prevent and reduce youth and adult substance abuse and impaired driving in Oregon. CLEAR Alliance supports two coalitions: the Redmond Area Community Coalition (RACC) and the Oregon Statewide Coalition (OSC). CLEAR Alliance has also recently entered into a collaboration with the Oregon National Guard Counter Drug Program to further expand their reach.

The RACC serves Redmond Oregon, a community of more than 30,000 people. The goals of the coalition are to increase partnerships and leadership for RACC and to build sustainability for drug education efforts that prevent and reduce youth and adult substance abuse and impaired driving in Redmond. Both coalitions, the RACC and the OSC, implement fact-based drug education in schools and driver education programs, and promote drug-free messaging. The OSC then works to disseminate this educational work across the state of Oregon.

Mandi Puckett, Executive Director of CLEAR Alliance shared, “This has been an exciting week in Washington DC for CLEAR Alliance. We were able to present at the National SAMSHA Prevention Day Conference, meet with the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office and Congressman Greg Walden to share the educational work we are doing in Oregon, and end the week with the honor of receiving a National Award from the White House ONDCP Director and HIDTA Director.”

Partners that were able to attend the trip to Washington, DC include representatives from CLEAR Alliance, Redmond High School, Oregon National Guard Counter Drug, Oregon-Idaho HIDTA and both youth and adult coalition members.

If you are interested in providing support to CLEAR Alliance or joining a coalition, please visit www.ClearAlliance.org or call 541-508-3062. You can also find CLEAR Alliance on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.