Senator Brooks Provides Funding Award To Help Address Alcoholism And Drug Dependence Among Long Island’s Youth

Senator John E. Brooks (SD-8) was proud to present a funding grant of $10,000 to the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (LICADD) to support their Student Assistance Program (SAP).

Since its founding in 1956, LICADD has striven to provide healthier communities that are resilient and responsive to the addictive climate we face today. Providing clinical assessments, solution-focused counseling, treatment placements, psycho-educational support groups, family services, recovery management services, eating disorders support, anger management, and grief and loss support, the organization has become a go-to agency for providing intervention, education, and professional guidance for substance abuse and mental health services — especially against the backdrops of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and substance use crisis.

One such service provided by LICADD is their Student Assistance Program (SAP). The mission of SAP is to provide evidenced-based substance use prevention education to school-based professionals, students, parents and the community so they can develop healthy coping skills to begin to recover from mental health and substance use disorders (SUD). SAP services include Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT), access to treatment on demand, support services for family members of individuals with a SUD, evidenced-based substance use prevention education and workforce development for school-based professionals.

Reflecting on the positive effects that LICADD has had on his District, Senator Brooks remarked, “The impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our community is evidenced in the documented increase in anxiety, stress, grief and loss — known precursors to substance use among individuals and families in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. LICADD’s Student Assistance Program, providing at-risk individuals and families with healthy coping strategies required to recover from mental health and other SUD’s, can ensure that all students, educators, and school staff receive high-quality, personalized programming. I was proud to award this funding grant to an organization so dedicated towards bringing such impactful and innovative programs for Long Island’s at-risk youth.”