DeKalb Community Promise is made up of a group of representatives from organizations, faith-based communities, non-profits, businesses, and even members from our community who have united to create change within DeKalb County in regards to the prevention of substance abuse among youth.
After some research, these representatives found that the DeKalb County had nearly 1,180 alcohol licensed establishments. 32% of those establishments received citations for the unlawful sales of alcohol to underage youth in 2001.
Concerned with the number of youth using alcohol and the reality of how available it is to them, DeKalb community leaders formed Beyond the Bell and the Coalition to Prevent Underage Drinking in 2004.
With further research, the coalition found other alarming trends, including the use of marijuana & tobacco among DeKalb County youth.
After discovering these statistics, the coalition voted unanimously to increase its focus to include the substance abuse of alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco among youth.
The name was changed to DeKalb Community Promise (Peers Reaching Out & Modeling Intervention Strategies.)