From 1991 to 2000 Join Together engaged in a wide range of activities designed to assist community-based groups in their efforts to reduce, prevent and improve treatment of substance abuse.

Key Results

Over the grant period, Join Together:

• Produced four national surveys documenting community responses to substance abuse. Two key findings:
  • Communities in every state and of every size were mobilizing to fight substance abuse. More than 1,700 groups identified themselves as the leader or sponsor of a community coalition to fight substance abuse, as of 1992.
  • By 1998, 3,500 respondents felt less isolated and had better access to current information.
• Chaired six national public policy panels to review current policy toward substance abuse prevention and treatment. Among the topics included:
  • Access to alcohol for underage drinkers.
  • Financing substance abuse services.
  • The justice system and substance abuse.
  • Substance abuse treatment and recovery.
• Convened four national conferences to:
  • Train community groups in methods they can use to collect data and assess the specific substance abuse problems in their areas and the progress they had made.
  • Collect, analyze and disseminate the lessons learned from community efforts across the country to combat substance abuse.
• Created an annual Join Together Fellows program, which brought together community-based leaders to train them in personal leadership development and strategic approaches to community problems.
• Produced periodic reports associated with its surveys, policy panels and conferences, a quarterly newsletter and a monthly action kit designed to aid community groups.
• Developed a Web site, www.jointogether.org.

Funding

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) made eight grants totaling $19,260,364 to support this work. Join Together continues to work in this field with RWJF support. (See After the Grant.)