Cherokee Focus Inc

Since the inception of the drug free cherokee initiative in 2004, cherokee focus has brought together concerned citizens, local businesses, youth, parents, health agencies, law enforcement, faith community, youth serving organizations, civic clubs, government agencies, and alcohol and substance abuse related organizations. These community representatives work together as a community coalition to develop a strategic prevention plan to prevent drug and alcohol use among youth in the community. Drug free cherokee models their efforts after the strategic prevention framework model to reduce underage use or misuse of alcohol, tobacco, vapes, marijuana, prescription and over the counter drugs, and other lethal substances such as meth, heroin and fentanyl. Prevention strategies follow cadca's seven strategies for community change. These strategies include providing information, providing support, enhancing access and reducing barriers, changing consequences, physical design, and modifying or changing policy. The vision of drug free cherokee is a united cherokee county that is healthy, safe, and drug free. This fiscal year, drug free cherokee was once again awarded a drug free communities continuation grant from the white house office of national drug control policy. The award of this grant has enabled drug free cherokee to expand our underage drinking prevention initiative. Drug free cherokee also developed a comprehensive tobacco and marijuana initiative focusing on e-cigarettes and vaping as use has increased over the last few years. The coalition continued to partner with the county's alternative school ace academy in the development and expansion of their redemption program. The program is for youth expelled from their school for substance use offenses. The program provides the youth with group counseling, group volunteering trips and the opportunity to earn their way back to their home school. The cherokee county youth council, an initiative of drug free cherokee is a youth action team comprised of 8th to 12th graders in cherokee county. Youth council members unite to address youth substance use in cherokee county and act as advisors to the drug free cherokee coalition.

Cherokee focus is an umbrella organization grounded and focused on the power of people building partnerships that develop into possibilities for the betterment of our community. Through capacity building and joint collaboration, individuals and organizations come together to address gaps in services, resources available, and issues common to our desire for a healthy community. The strength of this collaborative partnership resides in cooperation between organizations, agencies, civic clubs, the faith based community, law enforcement, education, families and individuals. Cherokee focus encourages and models interagency communication, partnership and resource sharing? Thereby creating a more efficient system of services delivery. Cherokee focus provides the opportunity for leveraging resources, skills, expertise and funding to create, develop and sustain programs and initiatives that will support the families and children of cherokee county through a means that could not be accomplished by one agency or individual alone. In 2024, the collaborative hosted the annual 'state of the county, child and family wellbeing" event which has become a collaborative signature event. The cherokee focus collaborative body meets once every month on the last wednesday of the month.