Member Organizations
Every Person Influences Children
EPIC was born out of a tragedy experienced by founder Robert Wilson. In 1977, his wife was murdered by a 15-year-old neighbor, a child they had befriended. Investigation of the child’s life indicated that he had been abused, neglected, and placed in eleven different foster homes. He had not experienced love; he only knew anger and violence. While it was too late to change what had happened to his wife, Wilson felt that it was not too late for others. In 1980, he established EPIC in Buffalo, NY with a vision of preventing tragedies like his. EPIC workshops and training carry out Robert Wilson’s mission by involving the entire community in helping children make responsible decisions, understand, and respect authority, develop positive self-esteem, plan, and succeed in life.
Prevention Focus
Prevention Focus has been “making safe and healthy happen” in Buffalo, NY and throughout Erie County since 1979. We give children, teens, and adults the skills and information they need to make safer and healthier choices about drug use, gambling, mental health, and related issues. We provide multi-session, nationally known model programs like Life Skills Training, Too Good for Drugs/Violence, and SPORT, in addition to programs of our design like Supper Club in area schools. We also facilitate single-session training on topics like suicide prevention and problem gambling in school and community settings and provide many programs for adults through the BestSelf Recovery Community.
Westside Community Services
West Side Community Services serves the youth, families, and seniors of Buffalo’s West Side with education, arts, wellness, and prevention programs and services. Our prevention programming includes delivery of EBP at local schools and after-school programs, as well as positive alternatives to substance use and violence through high-quality out-of-school time programs for youth, employment training programs, family engagement events and workshops, and a special focus on early childhood development through our new Family Center.
Mental Health Advocates of Western New York
At Mental Health Advocates of Western New York (MHA), our mission is to promote mental health and wellness in our community and support individuals and families challenged by mental illness. Our classroom-based BEST program helps students in Pre-K through Second Grade develop the healthy social and emotional skills they need to be successful in school and life. BEST is provided in two formats: Teaching Kids to Care for Pre-K and Too Good for Violence for kindergarten through second grade.
WNY United
Western New York United Against Drug & Alcohol Abuse, Inc. (WNY United) is a primary substance abuse prevention and education agency designed to train and mobilize local schools and communities to implement proven strategies that prevent the abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other dangerous drugs. Utilizing the latest prevention technology, we offer comprehensive, sustained prevention services to high-risk schools and communities that willingly enter into long-term partnership agreements with our agency to foster the development of healthy, capable young people.
The Prevention Council of Erie County
The Prevention Council of Erie County delivers research-driven education, prevention, intervention programs and services to promote and support the health and wellness of individuals, families, and communities by focusing on solutions to alcohol and other drug misuse, addiction, and unhealthy behaviors.
The Council will provide leadership to fight the stigma associated with addiction through public education, policy awareness, liaison with health professionals and recovering communities, and by providing objective information, referral, and linkages to those in need.
NACS
Native American Community Services (NACS) is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 to provide quality health and social services to the off-reservation Native American population in Erie and Niagara Counties. In keeping with our “Tradition of Caring,” we have since grown into a full-scale human services agency committed to helping the entire community, regardless of race or background.
NACS will continue its mission to help strengthen individuals and families mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially, while also building a greater sense of community. It’s our belief that a healthy and thriving Native American population contributes to the vibrancy of the whole Buffalo-Niagara Region.
The West Side Youth Development Coalition
The West Side Youth Development Coalition has the mission to improve the health and well-being of Buffalo’s West Side community by enhancing social, educational, health, family, economic, and community supports for the pro-social development of youth. We also aim to decrease the use and negative effects of alcohol and other drugs, and reduce other unhealthy behaviors including violence, gang activity, and crime.
The West Side Youth Development Coalition is an initiative at the Center for Health and Social Research at Buffalo State College. The Center for Health and Social (CHSR) facilitates the initiation, implementation, and continuation of research and education at Buffalo State College on health and social issues, especially related to alcohol and drug abuse.
Erie County Department of Mental Health
Px21, (originally called Px20), was initiated by the Erie County Department of Mental Health (ECDMH.) The ECDMH, asked Px20 to develop a multi-year comprehensive prevention plan incorporating data-driven decision making and evidence-based practices into a local framework. The ECDMH-funded agencies meet as an established group within Px21 on a monthly basis. ECDMH oversees the prevention providers in WNY who are part of the Px21 collective.
The Erie County Department of Mental Health Provides administrative leadership and ensures the coordination of a community-based behavioral health system that is accessible, comprehensive, person centered and recovery focused.
Erie County Sheriff’s Office Public Awareness is Prevention
The “Public Awareness Is Prevention Program” was developed by the Erie County Sheriff’s Office in 1982 to promote the idea of prevention and education as the most effective way to reduce substance abuse in Erie County. This program is funded by the New York State Office of Alcoholism & Substance Abuse.
Mission: To prevent or delay the onset of alcohol and other drug use, and to eliminate or reduce the high-risk use of drugs and alcohol through the application and principles of risk reduction and building -resiliency.
The Public Awareness is Prevention program uses environmental prevention strategies to continue to build coalitions and educate the community in Erie County on Underage Drinking and Drugs.
Restoration Society, Inc.
Restoration Society, Inc. programs are rehabilitation communities founded upon the recovery vision that all individuals can lead active lives filled with hope and satisfaction and make valuable contributions to our community. Clubhouse Buffalo, their community-based youth program, uses a peer-to-peer approach to support young people (13 to 23) recovering from substance use disorders or are at risk for developing one. The program offers a safe, inspiring, and nurturing space rich in activities, opportunities, people, and resources to help members live to the fullest. The program supports members by promoting wellness, by removing barriers and obstacles, and by engaging members in their communities in meaningful ways.
