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The New York National Guard’s Counterdrug Demand Reduction Program, has been named program of the year for 2023 by National Guard Bureau.
The Drug Demand Reduction Program, known as DDRO for short, is one of the programs run by the New York Counterdrug Task Force.
This is the third time the New York program has been recognized as the best in the 54 state and territorial National Guards.
The task force also provides specialized equipment to law enforcement, aviation support for drug suppression efforts, and analysts who work with law enforcement to track drug operations.
The DDRO program began in 2012 with 10 service members, it has now grown to over 20 enlisted servicemembers working across the state These personnel work with local counter drug groups to help them perform more effectively, according to Col. William Murphy, New York counterdrug coordinator.
They provide thousands of hours of support to community-based organizations and law enforcement agencies, Murphy said.
The DDRO program reached over 60 counties supporting over 115 community-based and law enforcement engagements utilizing strategic evidence-based problem-solving framework methods, he added.
The civil operators, as they are known, helped create long lasting changes and impact, reducing the risk of substance use, misuse, and abuse among communities and over 6,000 of their youth in addition to helping community based anti-drug organizations secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funding, according to Murphy.
“We help them identify issues and various problems in their communities, we help them come up with a plan on how to tackle those issues,” explained 1st Sgt. David You, the Drug Demand Reduction Outreach program manager.
“We help them implement the interventions or incitive to help these communities and then we help them with evaluations and sustainability,”
he added.
National Guard Bureau makes 3 awards for the counterdrug programs each year. These are: program of the year, civil operator of the year and investigative analyst of the year.
“Winning this award, means a great deal to me because although we have always been recognized nationally as trailblazers for the DDRO program, we continue to find outside the box ways to support our communities through community-level engagement and law enforcement support,” said Lt. Col Ashley FitzGibbon, Murphy’s deputy.
Along with being named drug demand reduction program of the year three times, 4 individuals have been named the Civil Operator of the Year, Murphy said.
“I’m very proud of our Civil Operators and Drug Demand Reduction Analysts that do the hard work to make this the best DDRO program in the nation,” You said.
“Drug prevention is like military leadership, you know you’re making a positive impact but are never quite sure you are doing the right thing, so the validation feels good,” he added.
“The most rewarding part of the process is seeing the Drug Demand Reduction Outreach team come together to embrace change and continuing to grow and mentor community partners to create long-lasting impacts to reduce the risk of our youth using and abusing drugs,” FitzGibbon said.
| Date Taken: | 05.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.14.2024 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 471221 |
| Location: | LATHAM, NEW YORK, US |
| Web Views: | 216 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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