Manhasset Community Coalition Against Substance Abuse, Inc., (CASA) was formed in 2000 to support educational and community outreach programs to prevent the underage and illegal use of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.

These initiatives serve parents, educators, and students to reduce illegal substance use among the young people of Manhasset.

Through primary prevention, CASA aims to ensure the safety and wellbeing of young people before they are in trouble.

CASA is not a treatment center and does not offer treatment services.

In 1998 and 2001 the national PRIDE Survey documented substance abuse among Manhasset youth. Among other findings, the survey established that significant percentages of Manhasset’s young people use tobacco, alcohol and marijuana. (In one measure, 23 percent of eight graders and 77 percent of twelfth graders reported drinking liquor “to get very high or bombed.”) 

Furthermore, the survey revealed a substantial gap between this reality and parental beliefs and attitudes. Seventy percent of parents of children in grades four through twelve agreed “drugs and alcohol are a big problem facing youth.” However, when asked about their own child’s behavior, parental perceptions fell far short of the actual substance abuse children reported. For example, 74 percent of tenth grade parents said their children do not use beer, whereas 67 percent of tenth grade students said they do. Also, according to the survey, most abuse occurs after school and on weekends, during parents’ “watch.”

With the endorsement of the Manhasset Board of Education, a group of parents and educators decided to tackle this community problem with a community solution. In December 2000, CASA was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit corporation. In December 2001, Manhasset’s first Community Coordinator for Substance Abuse Prevention was hired.

CASA works in coalition with parents, students, schools, and the community, providing effective leadership on underage substance use prevention resulting in programs and focus that would not exist in the schools or the community without CASA.