The Wilmington Coalition for a Healthy Community is one of over 2,000 coalitions that has been part of the federal Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program.  These coalitions make a real difference in their communities by bringing residents together to learn about the problems facing their community, develop plans to respond to those problems, and mobilize residents and resources to create the change that is needed.  This is done using a process called the Strategic Prevention Framework.

WCHC served for 10 years (the maximum allowed) as a DFC grant recipient learning about and using the Strategic Prevention Framework.  This has led to reductions in the percentage of Wilmington youth who use alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana as measured by the Illinois Youth Survey.​