City of Marion Awarded $100k State Match Grant to Expand Substance Use Programming in Partnership with MCS Share

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The City of Mar­i­on has been award­ed a $100,000 match fund grant from the Indi­ana Fam­i­ly and Social Ser­vices Administration’s Divi­sion of Men­tal Health and Addic­tion to strength­en local men­tal health and sub­stance use pre­ven­tion efforts in part­ner­ship with Mar­i­on Com­mu­ni­ty Schools.

This fund­ing will lever­age local opi­oid set­tle­ment dol­lars to expand pre­ven­tion pro­gram­ming, improve ear­ly iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of behav­ioral health needs, and increase access to coor­di­nat­ed care for youth and fam­i­lies. Through this col­lab­o­ra­tion, stu­dents will receive edu­ca­tion via evi­dence-based pro­gram­ming dur­ing the school day while fam­i­lies will have the oppor­tu­ni­ty to engage in knowl­edge build­ing work­shops. The grant will be imple­ment­ed over a two-year peri­od, with ongo­ing eval­u­a­tion to mea­sure outcomes.

“Part­ner­ing with our schools ensures we are reach­ing youth where they are,” said May­or Ronald Mor­rell, Jr. ​“This invest­ment allows us to take a proac­tive, com­mu­ni­ty-wide approach to prevention.”

“This grant allows us to be more inten­tion­al about pre­ven­tion, reach­ing youth and fam­i­lies before chal­lenges esca­late,” said Dr. Jay­da Mon­teiro, City of Mar­i­on Opi­oid Set­tle­ment Coor­di­na­tor. ​“By part­ner­ing close­ly with our schools, we can build stronger sup­ports, increase aware­ness, and equip stu­dents with the tools they need to make healthy deci­sions ear­ly on.” 

“Mar­i­on Com­mu­ni­ty Schools’ part­ner­ship with the City of Mar­i­on reflects our shared com­mit­ment to proac­tive­ly sup­port­ing stu­dents’ men­tal health and well-being. Through this grant, we are expand­ing evi­dence-based pre­ven­tion pro­gram­ming and strength­en­ing the sys­tems that sup­port stu­dents both in and out of school. Togeth­er, we are ensur­ing every stu­dent has the oppor­tu­ni­ty to learn, grow, and suc­ceed in a safe and sup­port­ive envi­ron­ment,” said Dr. Stephanie Lock­wood, Mar­i­on Com­mu­ni­ty Schools Superintendent.

The pro­gram, GIANT Minds, Safe Choic­es, will be imple­ment­ed in Fall 2026. Fund­ing for GIANT Minds, Safe Choic­es has been pro­vid­ed in part by Indi­ana Fam­i­ly and Social Ser­vices Administration’s Divi­sion of Men­tal Health and Addiction.