Capacity

As CADCA, the National Guard Bureau and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced the launch of VetCorps last week, a coalition voice was present to represent the many proud Minnesotans serving our nation.

After more than a decade of ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, many returning veterans and their families have difficulty readjusting to community life, with many experiencing a tough time finding jobs or adequate housing, or suffering from mental, physical and substance use disorders. Today, CADCA, the National Guard Bureau and the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) announced a unique new program called VetCorps to help returning veterans and their families access the critical services and support they need – ranging from social, mental and physical health services to housing and employment assistance. Click here to view a webcast of a press conference announcing the VetCorps program.

Engaging and working with youth in a community is an important component of a successful coalition. Fostering strong partnerships with youth not only allows them to develop professionally as community change agents, but also allows a coalition to tap into the most active minds and personalities in a community.

Community coalitions wanting to initiate or strengthen relationships with their local college campuses might take a lesson from the Texans Standing Tall's Nicole Holt and Drew Brooks who will present a workshop on "Catching Problems Upstream: Earlier Screening and Brief Motivational Interviewing" at CADCA's 21st annual National Leadership Forum.

While accounts of smuggling across the U.S.-Mexican border and organized cartels and street gangs may be no more than news headlines to some people, substance abuse and substance abuse-related violence remain a harsh reality for many communities along the southern border regions of the United States. To help provide community coalitions and health service providers with the tools they need to address these problems, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will partner with CADCA and the Mexican government to provide two collaborative, cross-border trainings to this region.

At last week's 20th Anniversary Forum, CADCA launched a series of 14 Web-based training courses focusing on the core competencies of community problem solving.