DEARBORN — The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) and Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities (LAHC) are two Dearborn-based organizations out of four total in the 12th Congressional District to each receive $125,000 in federal funding to prevent youth substance abuse, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) announced.

The funds come from the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP).

Dingell said this week that the substance abuse epidemic continues to impact too many families and young people in Michigan and across the country.

“We all have a role to play in fostering greater awareness and collaboration to tackle this growing crisis,” Dingell said.

The ONDCP funds went to:

• $125,000 for the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services’ (ACCESS) Substance Abuse Program (ASAP) Community Coalition
• $125,000 for Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities’ Advocate, Collaborate, Treat and Reduce (ACT) Program
• $125,000 for Oakwood Healthcare’s Taylor Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force
• $125,000 for The Guidance Center’s Stop Underage Drinking and Drugs (SUDDs) Coalition in Southgate

“I am grateful that these organizations are being recognized for their work with these significant awards and I look forward to continuing to work with them and all stakeholders in our communities to strengthen education, prevention, treatment and recovery so we can reverse the trends of this awful epidemic,” Dingell added.

Created in 1997, the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program provides grants up to $125,000 per year for five years to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners to create and sustain a reduction in local youth substance use.

According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, Michigan teenagers are 7 percent more likely to have used drugs in the last month than the average American teen and 18- to 25-year-olds in Michigan are 30 percent more likely to use drugs than the average American in the same age group.