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The rural towns of Chatham and Valatie may not first come to mind as sites in need of substance abuse prevention efforts among youth.

But, with the help of a state grant, Catholic Charities of Columbia and Greene Counties has launched an education initiative to curb alcohol and substance abuse among teens.

"I teach [drug prevention] in the classroom and this grant enables me to get out in the community more," said Mary K. Minahan, prevention educator for Catholic Charities. "The kids need to hear this outside of the classroom; teachers and parents need to hear it, too."

Since 2001, she said, there have been at least two alcohol-related deaths of high school students in the area. Both teens were passengers in cars involved in drunk-driving accidents.

More recently, there were several incidents in Chatham of adults having hosted parties that featured underage drinking - an ongoing problem, according to Ms. Minahan, who wrote the grant application for Catholic Charities and conducts outreach in schools and elsewhere.

The $20,000 Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws grant from the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) is paying for one year of community education, with the possibility of renewal if this year's program proves successful.

As a prevention educator, Ms. Minahan - a parishioner of St. James Church in Chatham - spends her time in the community spreading the message. Though lacking formal training in writing grant applications, she succeeded in her first attempt, a rarity in the fundraising world.

Ms. Minahan is also implementing the grant and deciding how the funds are used. At St. James parish, she is concentrating some of the efforts toward children; but as a member of the community, she has also used the funds to pay for billboards and radio ads, to host presentations for local bartenders on correct ways to check ID cards and to work with the police department and store owners.

Grant monies will also pay for a series of talks at local high schools by Michael Nerney, an internationally-known lecturer and consultant for two major television networks on the topic of substance abuse prevention and education.

The goal, according to Ms. Minahan, is to bring the lessons of the classrooms into the larger community.

Drug prevention is "becoming a part of what [adults and children] are thinking about," said Ms. Minahan. "They're realizing the situation.

"The idea is to change the social norms. That's why this grant is great: We have the means of getting this message out there over and over again."

(Chris Ringwald contributed to this story.)

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