Around 2007, BPC operated more as a committee made up of agencies and community members in Brevard County, FL under the name Brevard Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, or BYSAP. Over the course of several years, various agencies helped chair the committee before Stanley Brizz took on the role. The committee mostly discussed substance misuse trends amongst youths, provided resources on those trends, including underage drinking, and helped the community support DEA Take Back Days.

In 2016, Central Florida Cares Health System, Inc. (managing entity for the coalition’s region under the State of Florida, Department of Children & Families) facilitated collaboration with other county substance misuse prevention coalitions in Central Florida – Orange County’s Drug-Free Office and Seminole Prevention Coalition. Initially, the Children’s Cabinet of Osceola County was also included in the collaboration, but now Osceola Recovery Project has filled the role of representing that county in that capacity. Together, the coalitions utilized several media campaigns against substance misuse and underage drinking for the four-county area as a unified regional project. That collaboration continues today as all the agencies work together to promote effective substance misuse prevention initiatives, campaigns, and strategies.

In October 2017, the coalition partnered with the U.S. Attorney’s Office-Middle District of Florida to host a screening of an FBI and DEA documentary, Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an opioid Addict. This event included a panel discussion with the representatives from the FBI, DEA, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, the US Department of Justice-U.S. Attorney’s Office-Middle District of Florida, and a local experienced mental health professional after the film. It was attended by over 100 influential members of the community, including those from human service agencies and the medical field. The panel specifically discussed trends in opioid misuse and what could be done to help prevent youths from illicit use of opioids. The event was the coalition’s catalyst for starting the Opioid Misuse Task Force in Brevard County. Four subcommittees of the Opioid Misuse Task Force were formed to address Education, Medical professionals, Treatment and Recovery, as well as Criminal Justice issues that impact the opioid crisis.

In 2018, BPC formalized, reorganized, and intensified its efforts, becoming a corporation and nonprofit organization, a 501(c)(3). BPC’s creation and facilitation of the opioid misuse taskforce also led to Stanley Brizz, the coalition’s Executive Director, creating the official opioid abatement plan for Brevard County as a step to qualifying the county to utilize the pharmaceutical companies’ opioid settlement funds, which would bring more needed resources to the region.

BPC’s initiative to challenge harmful stigmas around addiction and substance use in 2022 included creating the county’s first event focused on recovery (Brevard Recovery Fest) which has now become its own separate organization. BPC continued to address stigmas by bringing other resource fair-style events to lower socioeconomic areas of the community that are historically underserved and under-resourced. What continues to be one of the most significant impacts of the coalition is raising awareness and educating families regarding opioids and youth substance misuse trends.

In 2023 and beyond, BPC aims to gather more community engagement from multiple sectors to address substance misuse. This will involve getting more volunteers involved in substance misuse prevention initiatives and recruiting more youths to participate. Additionally, BPC hopes to increase its efforts with school-based prevention programs, hosting youth substance misuse awareness events, aligning with community centers that service under-resourced and underserved communities, supporting law enforcement efforts against illicit drug use as well as underage drinking, and providing more training opportunities for its community partners.