Florida Atlantic University is receiving a $3 million dollar grant to tackle substance use among at-risk youth in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

The grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will focus on Broward and Palm Beach youth who are aging out of foster care, living in rural poverty or experiencing housing insecurity, according to Dr. Maria Carmenza Mejia, the program’s leader and a professor of population health at FAU.

The program will partner with existing groups like the FLITE Center in Fort Lauderdale and Empower Healthcare in the Glades region of Palm Beach County. By doing so, Mejia said the project team can use their data and focus on identified at-risk youth, who are more likely to turn to substances due to trauma

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