KMF Provides Grant to Council of SEPA for Youth Drug Education

The Kaitlin Murphy Foundation (KMF) is pleased to present The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. with a $5,000 grant for the Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Education and Intervention Groups at the Bucks County Youth Center. The program provides substance use and other risky behavior education for adolescents alleged to have committed a crime, and under the authority of the Bucks County Juvenile Court, remanded to the secure care of the center.

The mission of the Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc. is to provide resources and opportunities to reduce the impact of addiction, trauma and other related health issues for the entire community. This is accomplished through prevention, consultation, education, advocacy, assessment, intervention and recovery support services.

“The Kaitlin Murphy Foundation is proud to provide this grant to educate and mentor at-risk adolescents at the Bucks County Youth Center about substance use,” said KMF President Annemarie Murphy. “This program is critical in helping these young adults learn the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse while in the secure setting of the Youth Center.”

“Our community is so fortunate to have organizations like the Kaitlin Murphy Foundation championing the work being done to combat the opioid epidemic, and we are so grateful for this generous grant,” said Council of SEPA Executive Director Jennifer King. “This will help us educate youth about recovery, and provide an invaluable opportunity for the impacted youth to learn critical skills as they plan for their re-entry into their community. We are deeply grateful to be considered a part of KMF’s “Community of Fighters” as they build on the incredible impact they are having in creating paths to recovery for youth.”

The Kaitlin Murphy Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization started by the Murphy family in June 2017 in memory of their daughter and sister, Kaitlin, who lost her battle with addiction in May 2012. KMF's mission is to bring awareness to the addiction epidemic, form a community of fighters to join the battle, and raise the funds needed to support addiction fighting charities and causes that are already doing the good work on the ground level.

In the short time since its inception, KMF has continuously provided grants for addiction, prevention, and recovery programs across Bucks County. KMF's efforts specific to law enforcement, criminal justice reform, and rehabilitation include early funding of the Bucks County Police Assisting in Recovery Program "BPAIR", funding for transportation to/from Bucks County Drug Court program appointments, and funding to establish the HEART Program, a recovery program in the Bucks County Women's Correctional Facility. KMF's efforts and funding also includes programs helping homeless suffering from addiction, youth impacted by substance abuse in their households, a women's recovery art & music therapy program, engagement with high school students developing solutions to the opioid epidemic, enhancements to a women's sobriety residence, and providing transitional necessities for individuals entering recovery homes.

Lastly, and potentially most importantly, KMF has worked tirelessly to promote awareness of the opioid epidemic and build a "Community of Fighters", which has been accomplished through participation in many public events as well as through KMF-organized events, which thousands of supporters have participated in to date.

For more information on The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, please visit www.councilsepa.org; for more information on the Kaitlin Murphy Foundation, please visit www.kaitlinmurphyfoundation.org.