...engage... equip... empower our community to prevent addiction in Charlotte County

Tobacco and Nicotine Resources

What is Prevention?

Check out our new video- co-branded with APF (Addiction Policy Forum) - to share the importance of prevention for everyone and every community. Check out our special campaign page for more videos, including a series on vaping and Opioids. These series include videos and information for youth and for adults.

​We are happy to share these with you - and would be thrilled to be able to present them, and more information to your community or church group. Contact us: prevention@drugfreecc.org

Vaping - Know the Facts

News to Know Now

THANK YOU!
July 15, 2022 - Drug Free Charlotte County is pleased to announce the award of a $20,000 Community Grant. The funds will support Kids Thrive! Collaborative, which helps pregnant women and new mothers of children born substance-exposed access necessary resources in the community. Drug Free Charlotte County is the lead in the collaborative, which includes Charlotte County Healthy Start Coalition, The Early Learning Coalition of Florida’s Heartland, the Florida Center’s Healthy Families Charlotte County, and new partnerships with The Boys and Girls Clubs of Charlotte County and the Charlotte County Imagination Library. The grant is made possible by the Miriam P. Raines Charitable Fund, an endowment at Gulf Coast created to help women in Charlotte County educate themselves to further their life skills.
Funds will advance work with the Circle of Parents, part of the Kids Thrive Collaborative. Specifically, leadership skill development and support will be provided to a group of “mentor moms” who have stepped forward to assume responsibilities of leadership to help strengthen the organizational structure necessary to sustain and grow the impact of this successful peer support group. Helping build a supportive social network and empowering mothers with the skills and resources needed for their well-being, as well as that of their children, is at the heart of Kids Thrive Collaborative. We are deeply grateful for this support and honored for the opportunity to use it towards the empowerment of the of the women involved in Kids Thrive. 
Learn More
November 18, 2024 - Drug Free Charlotte County receives United Way of Charlotte County, Board of County Commissioners Grant Funding

Drug Free Charlotte County is pleased to announce funding from United Way of Charlotte County.  These funds will continue to support the Kids Thrive Navigator-Advocate and Circle of Parents program. The Navigator Advocate helps families of newborns through kindergarten entry access needed services to address housing, food, financial and employment. She also works with “leader moms” to support the Circle of Parents and provide enriching literacy activities for the children and family. With basic needs addressed through the support of Kids Thrive, parents are better able to focus on building school readiness for their children, and in turn able to also build healthy family bonds and resilience. Circle of Parents is a 2Gen approach to assisting families navigate local resources and build family-early literacy so that children are school-ready and poised to be reading at grade level by third grade.
Kids Thrive facilitates the Circle of Parents, which is a peer group offering healthy socialization and peer support for both children and families. Literacy-based activities are provided as part of the “meet ups.” Additionally, a Peer Advocate works with the Navigator Advocate to provide home visits (with activities) to new families and those who benefit from additional support, especially if the child is not meeting his/her developmental milestones. The two advocates also facilitate a new group at Operation PAR for parents new to Kid Thrive and who are in medication assisted treatment.
This program is open to any Charlotte County family with children from birth to kindergarten. Funds provided through United Way of Charlotte County from the Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners Community Grants, will help the work of the Kids Thrive Collaborative and Circle of Parents in efforts to build and enrich early childhood literacy and family bonding.
The Kids Thrive Collaborative fosters strong family bonds and early childhood educational success – both critical protective factors for preventing use of substances and breaking family cycles of addiction. This project is just one of the ways Drug Free Charlotte County works to prevent addiction. Learn more at unitedwayccfl.org/ and drugfreecharlottecounty.org . 
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***IMPORTANT***
Our meetings are being conducted either via a hybrid format (in person and on Zoom) or via Zoom. PLEASE CONTACT diane@drugfreecc.org to learn how to participate in your preferred manner.

Ma
​Tobacco Free Partnership - Charlotte County
Meets the 4th Monday: 3:30 pm - Quarterly
July, October, January, and April
Please Join Us!
​To learn more - contact: Michelle


Annual Prevention Awards and Breakfast
May 9, 2025 8:15 am
24TwentyOne Event Center, Port Charlotte

Coalition Leadership Meetings
3rd Tuesday of the month - bi-monthly
March 2025 Meeting moved to March 25th at 3:30 pm
Use this link for date changes
To learn more - contact: Diane
***IMPORTANT***
Our meetings are being conducted either via an online platform or hybrid format (in person and online). PLEASE CONTACT diane@drugfreecc.org to learn how to participate in your preferred manner.
Sister Coalition Meetings

Drug Free Punta Gorda -
3rd Thursday of each month
to learn more - contact: Ashley​
Englewood Community Coalition
To learn more - contact: Kay

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Tips on Safe Use, Safe Storage, Safe Disposal of Medication

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Drug Free Charlotte County 
1445 Education Way, Port Charlotte, FL 33948
​prevention@drugfreecc.org
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