The CADCA Ambassador Highlight Series: Lindsey Roberts

This is the fourth in a series of articles focusing on the young adults participating in the CADCA National Coalition Institute's Ambassador Program, a workforce development initiative. This week, we're highlighting Lindsey Roberts.

Former president John F. Kennedy once said, “Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” The CADCA National Coalition Institute’s Ambassador Program is focused on cultivating future coalition leaders by offering them priceless opportunities and experiences to learn and grow.

Lindsey Roberts began her coalition work as a volunteer for the Muskogee Community Anti-Drug Network (CAN), while serving as a prevention specialist for the Muskogee County Area Prevention Resource Center. Her involvement with CAN began early in 2008 and transitioned to a full-time staff position in October 2008.

“The core reason I decided to work in a substance abuse prevention coalition is to play a part of making my hometown—a place that has been associated with drugs and crime—a more positive place to live,” said Ms. Roberts. I want to play a role in our community achieving positive change. Coupled with several years of prevention experience, Ms. Roberts is one of three Ambassadors who has completed the National Coalition Academy (Academy), and says that Muskogee CAN has “Become more focused…we were able to create a logic model and strategic action plan that helped us figure where we were and where we wanted to be.”

Ms. Roberts believes the Academy experience has provided her with the “Roadmap for what our coalition needed to be doing,” and feels that as an Ambassador she can continue that training and take it a step farther by receiving more intensive hands-on training. Her experiential learning includes exploring opportunities that will help her one day become a CADCA trainer—allowing her to give back to her own community and others who strive to overcome the challenges of substance abuse.

Muskogee CAN recently completed a year-long assessment process to determine that prescription drug abuse and misuse is a rapidly growing problem in their community.

One strategy to address this problem led to a partnership with the Muskogee Police Department and Weed and Seed. “We collected over 53,000 pills in 5 hours!” a result of Prescription Drug Disposal Day in which Ms. Roberts participated proudly. Community members brought expired or unused prescriptions to be disposed of. These collection events will be held several times a year. As a coalition we are working to reduce availability by taking the excess medication out of the home. In order to do this, the CAN coalition is providing youth with programs that will help them make an educated decision not to abuse and targeting parents by educating them to the dangers of abuse, as well as warning signs and ways to talk to their children. “Our goal is to educate about prevention and positively affect our community,” said Roberts.

When asked about why she applied to the Ambassador Program, Lindsey said, “I knew immediately that I wanted to be part of this groundbreaking program.I think it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for young people starting out in coalition work to have the advantage of working alongside the intelligent CADCA team and having them as “mentors.” The CADCA staff are friends we can call when we need guidance and I also have my fellow Ambassadors to lean on. I know I can call any one of the Ambassadors and they relate to the issues I am dealing with in my community and can their different perspectives can open my eyes to solutions and ideas I would’ve never thought of on my own. Knowing there are other people across the nation who support me is a great a feeling!”

The Ambassador Program is geared toward adults age 18 to 30 and addresses a transparent need for young adult prevention workforce leaders in economically challenged communities. The CADCA Institute provides each participant with training at its globally recognized National Coalition Academy, the annual Mid-Year Training Institute and CADCA’s annual high visibility National Leadership Forum. Other relevant activities complement the formal training to provide Ambassadors with well-rounded and practical experience that equips them with serving their communities better.

To learn more about the CADCA Institute’s Ambassador Program contact Janine Payne, Ambassador Program Manager at jpayne@cadca.org.