Community Spotlight this month is on:

The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Who They Are

The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1990 dedicated to eliminating birth defects caused by alcohol consumption during pregnancy and improving the quality of life for those individuals and families affected. NOFAS, the only national organization focusing solely on FAS, takes a multicultural approach to prevention and healing.

Their Mission

NOFAS is committed to raising public awareness of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)-the leading known cause of mental retardation-and to developing and implementing innovative ideas in prevention, intervention, education and advocacy in communities throughout the nation.

What They Do

The primary goal of the Family and Community Empowerment (FACE to FACE) project is to raise awareness about the risk of alcohol and substance use during pregnancy among medically underserved and Hispanic populations in the District of Columbia, provide access to appropriate community services to meet the complex needs of affected individuals, including consideration of the families involved and increased availability of parenting training for caretakers.

How They Do It

NOFAS organized a community festival at Sacred Heart Catholic Church located in Columbia Heights, a key Hispanic district in Washington D.C. Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care and NOFAS held a daylong conference on October 13, 2002 for parents and families with special needs children. The program coordinator, with the input of advisory committee and FAS family members, assembled a list of prospective participants, drafted an agenda, recruited participants and developed detailed timelines and checklists. This festival was a tremendous success and a wonderful way to spread prevention messages in a diverse and underserved community.

How ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! Helped

The ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! initiative materials have given us a way to reach out to the Hispanic/Latino population in a much more effective way than just our materials could alone. Now, every time we attend or host functions in Hispanic/Latino communities, NOFAS makes sure to bring Hablemos en Confianza and ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! materials.

Contact Information

The National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Sacred Heart Community Festival
Tara Rupp, Program Associate
(202) 785-4585
rupp@nofas.org

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