The Municipal Alliance is a meaningful nonprofit organization focused on providing education to the community regarding mental health and substance abuse prevention, it is funded by the state council on alcoholism and drug abuse. All fines and court fees for drug and alcohol-related charges go to municipal alliances across New Jersey, and the money must be used solely for prevention efforts. They generally meet at the Otto Kaufman community center every other month, on the second Monday of the month at 7 pm.

     In a recent meeting with Committeewoman Shelly Bell and Devangi Patel, Joyce and I were able to obtain a much deeper understanding of the Municipal Alliance. The Municipal Alliance is very program-oriented, and one of its main goals is getting programs out to students that concern urgent topics. They are very focused on vaping programs for students and teachers, including evidence-based modules that present information about the dangers of vaping without being heavy-handed or authoritarian. Since it is extremely easy to get access to vapes, the Municipal Alliance is making an effort to limit the accessibility of vapes in local stores. They’re advocating for ordinances in place to license facilities that sell vapes, and they want to use that money for prevention events. They are also working on the best ways to handle alcohol and underage drinking, as well as the abuse of prescription drugs by the youth. The Municipal Alliance is also extremely concentrated on mental health and how to manage anxiety and stress for students. They are aware that students report very high levels of stress and they want to work with the youth to gather data, surveys, speakers, and programs. The Municipal Alliance received a grant called the Youth Services Commission that speakers, programs, education). 

     The Municipal Alliance doesn’t only focus on the youth, but adults as well. They talk about substance abuse prevention, providing resources for those who need help, improving parenting skills, dealing with trauma, domestic violence, mental health mindfulness, sharing resources, and senior citizens’ concerns. These are all incredibly important issues that are quite common, and due to the pandemic, these problems may have also heightened which is why the Municipal Alliance is such a crucial factor in the well-being of the community. However, unfortunately, there was an 85% decrease in the Municipal Alliance’s budget due to COVID-19. 

     The Municipal Alliance received a grant called the Youth Services Commission which is funded by Somerset Country. There are 3 programs that are derived from the youth services commission; Girls on the Run, Yoga and Mindfulness, and Youth Advisory Group. In the youth advisory group, there is one youth advisor that would oversee a group of 24-25 highschool juniors and seniors, and they would teach and guide these students to get a data collection to identify concerns of the student population. The Municipal Alliance used to be very people-based (assemblies, professional development, reaching out to students, community festivals), but now it is more difficult to reach the student body. The Municipal Alliance members also know that they cannot properly relate to the mental health and problems of students, so they are encouraging the youth to attend the Municipal Alliance meetings and give their voice!

     Currently, the Municipal Alliance is working on partnering with other municipal alliances with other counties to create a documentary series for an organization called IndieFlicks, there are currently 3 documentaries Upstanders, Liked, and Angst. They target cyberbullying, social media, and anxiety. There is a screening night and a week grace period to view the documentaries, including a panel discussion at the end. The Municipal Alliance is forming a social media platform as well to better communicate with the public. 

     I believe that the Municipal Alliance should receive more attention because it is such a fundamental service being given to the public. They tackle such crucial problems that are really affecting the public. Student’s anxiety and stress levels are very high due to school and it is not healthy, especially during the pandemic since students are not able to be in person with other people, instead, they stay at home all day, and this change in learning style is extremely impactful to their mental health. Drug abuse is also an extremely important issue that needs more action, since drugs are so accessible to the youth, it’s difficult to limit, but the Municipal Alliance is working very hard to prevent drug abuse. They also are working towards decreasing domestic violence, toxic parenting behavior, and mental health mindfulness which I believe is an essential priority. The municipal alliance is certainly a vital committee that is working really hard to undertake big issues.