November 5, 2020 Drug Free Charlotte County is pleased to announce the award of a $44,700 grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation. The funds will support the Kids Thrive! Collaborative, which helps pregnant women and new mothers of children born substance-exposed access necessary resources in the community. Drug Free Charlotte County is the lead in the collaborative, which includes Charlotte County Healthy Start Coalition, The Early Learning Coalition of Florida’s Heartland, the Florida Center’s Healthy Families Charlotte County, and new partnerships with The Boys and Girls Clubs of Charlotte County and the Charlotte County Imagination Library. The grant is made possible by the Miriam P. Raines Charitable Fund, an endowment at Gulf Coast created to help women in Charlotte County educate themselves to further their life skills. Funds will advance work with pregnant women in medication assisted treatment before, during, and after delivery of the baby. A navigator helps mothers build parenting skills for healthy development of the child through literacy activities and to build her own self-esteem. The project nurtures empowerment through the expansion of the Circle of Parents, a peer support group led by moms. It also provides critical support resources like Chromebooks and hotspots to provide women with reliable access to resources, career development, education, and peer support.