Kings Park in the kNOw, Community Coalition

The purpose of the coalition is to serve the community of Kings Park and the surrounding areas by acting as a public information resource against the sale, use and proliferation of illegal drugs that are targeted to our youth.  They also work to prevent substance abuse and illegal activity by raising awareness in our community.  Their goal is to empower families so they have the tools to raise healthy drug-free children. 

 

These are not professionals in the field of substance abuse and prevention but they do collaborate closely with many professionals.  Members of the coalition have aligned ourselves with LICADD (Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency), F.I.S.T. (Families In Support of Treatment), COS (Communities Of Solutions) and Horizons of Smithtown as well as the Smithtown Youth Bureau.  They also partner with several other coalitions on Long Island who all support each other in an effort to combat addiction among the residents of Long Island.

KPITK was instrumental in bringing the Too Good For Drugs program to the Kings Park Central School District at both the High School and Middle School.  Their goal is to continue on down to the younger students where intervention is needed most.  KPITK holds informational evenings twice a year in the Kigns Park High School and Middle School.  These forums are called Preventing Destructive Decisions.  They have had speakers who discuss the dangers of substance abuse as well as other topics such as cyber bullying, sexting, etc. 

 

KPITK has a very close relationship with the current Superintendent of Kings Park Schools, and active Rotarian at our club, Dr. Timothy Eagen.  Dr. Eagen has made a huge investment in the well-being of the students in the Kings Park School District.  He understands the problem of substance use, abuse and addiction and is working closely with KPITK to bring every bit of helpful information to the community of Kings Park. 

 

KPITK has very good relationships with the Suffolk County Police Department and several local legislators.  It advocates for legislation locally and federally.  We all recently saw the CARA bill signed by the president.  This bill, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, will provide funding for local prevention initiatives as well as treatment resources for all of those suffering from addiction in the United States.  KPITK was actually asked to host two press conferences regarding this particular bill by congressman Zeldin, 1^st district, who supported the bill and co-sponsored it without question shortly after its introduction to the House. 

 

Members of KPITK are resources for anyone who is in need of treatment for addiction.  Because of their extensive networking efforts they have been able to provide people with  contact to professionals in the field of treatment for addiction and have acquired placement in rehabilitation programs for those who have reached out to them. 

 

KPITK has a Face Book page that they use to provide information to the community.  They have also partnered with LICADD  to provide workshops at the Kings Park branch of the Smithtown Library to bring information to families and students regarding substance use, abuse and relationship issues.  For the upcoming year KPITK will be addressing issues surrounding well-being which are so important and a huge preventative tool when it comes to substance use. 

 

KPITK has an anonymous tip hotline which was the first of its kind to report illegal drug activity in the town of Kings Park.   However, although they still have their line up and running, they now encourage people to call the new Suffolk County hotline 631-852-NARC (6272)  Thanks to Suffolk County Police Commissioner Sini, the county has a very pro-active hotline which has resulted in many arrests in Suffolk County. 

 

Check KPITK out on Facebook, or on their website, at www.kpintheknow.org