Chemical People
Beginnings: 1963
“The danger was so great, so personal, and so unmanageable alone. And so THE CHEMICAL PEOPLE became the spark to ignite a spectacular national response, astonishing the skeptics, the professionals, community leaders, as well as those of us who designed and created this opportunity.”
The Project:
“The Chemical People project is based on the premise that within each community resides a releasable force, a force more powerful than that generated by a single individual or a single institution.”Chemical abuse is a huge problem that can confuse us. But there are ways to find solutions if we break the problem down to a manageable size and work together.”
The Chemical People Book, COPYRIGHT 1983 83-31580
Chemical People started as a “project, a vision…an out and out crusade, a concept born in Hershey PA., in about 1965 with a group of concerned citizens. Eventually "mini-town meetings” were organized bringing community members together to view programs that were developed to inform community members to take community action.
The Chemical People project brought to light the needs such as parenting a chemical abusing child and parenting strategies specifically for prevention of chemical abuse. One distinct long-lasting aspect of Chemical People involved utilizing television to spotlight which community members gathered in town hall meetings to initiate addressing community problems and then forming permanent community and school task force/partnerships, to develop positive and workable strategies.
Today:
Mini-grants when a small effort can result in a BIG return; in the life of a child!
Today Onondaga County Chemical People funds continue to form partnerships through Middle School “Mini-Grants” administered by Prevention Network. Small monetary “matching dollar” awards are made to schools and programs reaching youth in Grades 4-8. Mini-Grants are awarded to settings that help young people meet the challenges of
pre-adolescence by promoting healthy attitudes and behaviors, and other pro-social skill development. Strong consideration is given to strategies that offer youth opportunities for skill building involving peer, school or community recognition for favorable accomplishments. Mini-Grants are intended to financially assist the efforts of existing programs to financially support original ideas that demonstrate pro-social skill development. For eligibility information, application and questions, Awards made annually each December.
Contact: Faith Mary Moore fmmoore@preventionNetworkcny.org telephone: 471-1359 ex 310