After its first attempt was rejected last year, the Glenview Northbrook Coalition for Youth received a $125,000 federal drug abuse prevention grant in September.

The coalition will be given $125,000 through District 225 each year for five years, after which the coalition will need to reapply for funding.

Jennifer Pearson, director of special education at District 225, said although the coalition applies for the grant, the federal government is required to provide the funds through a corporate entity, which would be the district office.

She said the success in receiving the grant came from alterations of their previous grant application, after getting feedback from the government.

Pearson was one of the many collaborators of the grant and helps facilitate the coalition, which consists of District 225, Peer Services, Youth Services of Glenview/Northbrook, and other schools and programs in the community.

Pearson said she remembers her sister struggling with substance abuse in high school and throughout her life. As a sibling, she saw marijuana and alcohol abuse lead to other drugs and watched it develop over time into a more significant substance issue. Seeing her sister struggle with substance abuse, Pearson found an emotional outlet in leadership roles in clubs that shed light on the adverse effects that drugs had on peers.

“[My past is] not necessarily what drove this right now, but it’s nice to see this come full circle in terms of what I did in elementary school and what I did in high school,” Pearson said.

The grant focuses on the prevention of alcohol, marijuana and prescription drug abuse, which includes educating parents about what drugs their kids could be exposed to. Pearson said this includes an emphasis on prescription drug abuse awareness, since parents might not be familiar with that danger. It also aims to educate youth in the Glenview Northbrook area, from elementary students to high school students. According to Pearson, the specific allocations of the grant have not been determined yet.

Senior Brian Szczepkowicz said prescription drug abuse is common among Glenbrook North student drug users because students can find pills such as Adderall, Ritalin and Valium easily from their parents’ prescriptions.

“It is stupidly easy to find substances, whatever you’re looking for, in the North Shore,” Szczepkowicz said.

Pearson said the perceived norm of all students doing drugs is something the grant will aim to turn around.

“I think the majority of youth are not using drugs,” said Pearson. “I also think there is this overrepresentation of how many people are using in schools, and I’m not just being naive. There needs to be an understanding that not everybody uses, that it is a decision that you can make, and it does have effects that you can consider.”

Senior Arisa Dhiensiri said she thinks drug prevention programs can work if they focus on the community level, and she has high hopes for this grant.

“I think they can work if they’re always present, but, like, if you have someone talk for one day it doesn’t have that big of an effect,” Dhiensiri said.

Szczepkowicz said he does not believe anti-drug programs work.

“It hasn’t worked in the past, and it won’t work now,” said Szczepkowicz. “The people that do these things, especially with hard drugs, these are the people that were going to do it no matter what. It’s just who they are.”

Pearson said she knows if there is access to drugs in the community, there will always be the potential for student drug abuse, but she hopes the grant will dissuade students from turning to drugs.

“I think there’s always going to be access issues that affect drug use, but I’m hoping that the positive wellness initiatives that we will take will reduce the likelihood that people will be turning to [drugs] as a way to address problems or issues that they have and that they will turn toward resources that are healthier,” Pearson said.