The Northeast Community Challenge (NECC) Coalition was founded in 1983 in response to the "Chemical People" television documentary, which focused on teen substance abuse and related health issues. The doumentary was a national initiative promoted by former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
The late Howard Barns, principal of Sycamore High School, served as the town meeting coordinator for a local discussion concerning the "Chemical People" doumentary. As a result, the Sycamore Community Task Force on Alcohol and Drug Abuse was formed. Bill Siegel, a Montgomery City Councilman, was elected to serve as its first chair.
The task force evolved into the NECC Coalition, one of the longest-standing prevention coalitions in the state of Ohio, which services the municipalities of Blue Ash, Montgomery, Symmes Township, and Sycamore Township.
The NECC Coalition is comprised of approximately forty organizations representing all community sectors. The mission of the coalition is to mobilize all sectors of the community to work collaboratively in identifying and impelmenting program strategies that promote Healthy Communities ~ Healthy Youth.
The Coalition strives to
ASSESS community needs, to
MAXIMIZE the resources of the community, and to
IDENTIFY and
IMPLEMENT strategies that will reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors leading to positive youth development.
Dr. Loretta Novince served as vice-president, president, consultant, evaluator, grant writer, and DFC grant project director over a 24 year period from 1987 to 2011. Her diligent work on behalf of the coalition furthered the mission of promoting Healthy Communities ~ Healthy Youth and garnered national attention for the coalition's efforts. She placed high importance on engaging all community sectors in institutionalizing strategies that would promote healthy child and adolescent development.
Coaliton Logo
The NECC wheel symbolizes the importance of all community sectors
working collaborativley toward a vision of fostering the development of Healthy Communities ~ Healthy Youth.