Our Mission

Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth, or CADFY, is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization working in collaboration with individuals, agencies and organizations to bring parents, youth, schools and communities together to build and promote safe and healthy environments.

CADFY works at the state, national and international levels to encourage policies that target illicit drug use and related problems, promote research-based prevention strategies and programs and create initiatives that support drug awareness and education.

Vision

An Organization Effectively Creating Networks of Resources that Support Collaboration in Building Safe and Healthy Communities. Community Alliances for Drug Free Youth, or CADFY, is a non-profit organization working in collaboration with other agencies and organizations to bring parents, youth, schools, and communities together to reduce substance abuse through the application of successful prevention strategies and programs. Founded in 1983 by a small group of community members in California, one of CADFY’s greatest strengths over its 25-year history is its established ability to bring together coalitions from throughout the state and nation and serve them as a catalyst providing access to information and resources that empower local people to solve local problems.

History

CADFY began as a grassroots parent anti-drug movement in the late ‘70’s. In 1980, four of these parents, Carla Lowe and Sharon Rose, from Northern California, and Carol Stein and Judi Ahrensee, from Southern California, began to unify and formalize their efforts. By 1983, CADFY hosted its first state prevention conference, which included the youth “Kiki Clubs,” initiated in El Centro by Henry Lozano after the death of DEA agent Enriqué “Kiki” Camarena, to promote drug-free lifestyles with youth. Parents and youth were mobilized around the prevention of drug use and violence. This parent movement has broadened into a collaborative effort across sectors of the community in the succeeding years. Since 1987, CADFY has sponsored over 300 Youth 2 Youth conferences in 35 different communities throughout California. Many of these have solidified their collaborative efforts as drug-free coalitions and have been funded by the Federal Drug-Free Communities act passed by Congress.

In 1986, CADFY initiated the first statewide Red Ribbon Week Campaign held during the last week of October. By 1988, Red Ribbon Week was embraced nationally as a time when schools and communities raise awareness about the prevention of substance abuse. Today, schools and communities throughout the nation create activities and sponsor media campaigns during Red Ribbon Week to increase the public’s awareness about the problems caused by substance abuse and promote research based prevention strategies and programs throughout the year.