Vernon coalition youth attend leadership conference
VERNON — A Vernon Coalition youth, 15 year old Briana Palmer, received a full scholarship through the Community Anti-Drug Coaltions of America, and accompanied coalition staff to attend CADCA’s National Leadership Forum this year.
"Briana was so inspiriting to watch as she immediately joined in youth activities with other teams from across the country," Youth Coordinator Gemma Chalkley said.
The coalition also met with representatives from Congressman Scott Garrett’s, Senator Cory Booker’s and Senator Robert Menedez’ representatives while at the CADCA Forum’s Capitol Hill Day event on Wednesday, Feb. 5. With these meetings on Capitol Hill, they spoke of the continued work needed to be done in communities to address prevention of youth drug abuse as well as how successful efforts are empowering young people to remain drug-free.
“We were so excited to be able to spend several days with other similar organizations from across the country, learning and honing our prevention skills so our community can be a better place; one that doesn’t suffer from the harms of drug and alcohol abuse,” said Annmarie Shafer, coordinator of The Vernon Coalition, a program of The Center for Prevention and Counseling. “We’ve come back re-energized with new strategies under our belt to address drug use in Vernon.”
CADCA’s Forum covered a wide range of topics — everything from how to prevent prescription drug abuse and the abuse of synthetic drugs like bath salts and K2 to how to create tobacco-free environments and develop policies — to reduce underage and excessive drinking.
The coalition has recently affected the Vernon community by establishing monthly Above the Influence (ATI) youth group meetings at three Vernon schools for grades 5-12 where students meet after school to learn leadership skills, make positive living choices and participate in activities with other youth realizing healthy decisions about issues they face today. A description of ATI from the www.abovetheinfluence.com website states, “Above the Influence. It’s a state of mind. It’s about being yourself and not letting negative influence get to you. Pressure to drink, do drugs or do anything that goes against who you are in order to fit in — that’s negative influence. And if you’re one of the teens who want to stay above it, you’ve come to the right spot.”
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