History of ALERT Partnership
View our complete funding history here.
ALERT was formed in 1987 to coordinate and fund prevention services. Located in Allentown, PA, the coalition serves Lehigh and Northampton counties. Lehigh Valley Health Network provides office space for the coalition and has served as lead agency for over twenty-one years.
The early efforts of the coalition reached more than 20,000 students, parents, educators, and members of the business community. In 1991, ALERT began planning a grassroots regional response to substance abuse with the help of the first of two federal grants from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ALERT was the first local organization to hire community organizers to work with neighborhoods to form authentic partnerships with local government, law enforcement, and community-based organizations. These efforts at identifying and mentoring neighborhood leaders have resulted in the development of several active block watch and neighborhood groups.
ALERT has provided almost $200,000 in "Prevention Inventions" seed moneys to over 200 organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley. These projects, planned in partnership with the community, educate children about substance abuse, provide positive activities for youth, and address issues related to substance abuse through strengthening neighborhoods. Neighborhood projects that are resident-driven are helping to build a renewed community spirit and sense of safety throughout the Lehigh Valley.
The Lehigh Valley Partnership revitalization plan identifies distressed center-city neighborhoods in the Lehigh Valley as a concern to the quality of life and economic growth for the entire region. Urban problems will become suburban problems. The Lehigh Valley Partnership plan recommends citizen involvement in public safety and community policing. ALERT Partnership has been named as part of the solution because ALERT Partnership is helping to strengthen neighborhoods.
Substance abuse and associated issues know no racial, ethnic, economic, social, or religious boundaries. Although ALERT has focused its limited resources, to a large extent, on urban neighborhoods, technical assistance is available to any group of non-urban residents interested in strengthening their neighborhood.
Examples of the ALERT Partnership's work:
