Coalitions Adopting Social Media in Day-to-Day Communication Efforts

For many working in the field of substance abuse prevention, the concept of social media can seem like foreign territory. However, as online social interaction extends into all facets of everyday communication, its use becomes more vital to successful coalition communication strategies. Jason Verhoosky, Youth Program Coordinator for the DanversCARES coalition of Danvers, Mass., works extensively with social media in his community and on a national stage with CADCA’s National Coalition Institute to help coalitions integrate these new tools into their work.

Through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and a Wordpress blog, Verhoosky plays an essential role promoting his coalition’s campaigns and events and engaging with the Danvers community as an active contributor in the coalition’s communication efforts. The DanversCARES Facebook page serves as a forum for community interaction as well an important communication tool for reaching out to its youth leaders.

“Facebook allows us to post events and meeting times for our Youth Leadership Board and gives our youth the opportunity to have a home for holding discussions and sharing new ideas,” said Verhoosky who will be part of the social media training team at CADCA’s 2011 Mid-Year Training Institute in Anaheim, Calif., July 24-28.

During the holiday and prom seasons, Verhoosky posts helpful tips on the DanversCARES Facebook page and blog site concerning alcohol and underage drinking to help Danvers’ families make safe, healthy decisions. As previous campaigns’ popularity grew in the local community, coalitions from other communities began commenting and reposting the tips on their pages.

“Social media really gives coalitions the opportunity to reach new audiences,” Verhoosky said. “It is a great tool to broadcast your events and activities, but also an incredible resource for learning from other coalitions.”

In 2010 DanversCARES, in partnership with the Danvers Council on Aging, produced “The Generations Project,” a prevention documentary in which youth leaders met with older generations of Danvers community members to share life stories and discuss how societal views of drugs and alcohol changed in their lifetime.

DanversCARES used its Facebook page to promote the film, posting video clips throughout the filming process. The project members used feedback from the page to incorporate new discussion topics and questions into the film based on the issues community members wanted them to address. The documentary was featured at the 2010 Lights. Camera. Help. Festival for nonprofit, cause-driven films held in Austin, Texas. DanversCARES also received the Service to Science Award from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and is currently evaluating the project for adaptation in other coalitions and communities.

“The Generations Project was the product of great community involvement,” Verhoosky said. “Using feedback from members of the community was a great way to make them feel like they were a part of the documentary and had a hand in creating an amazing film.”

In addition to helping his own community, Verhoosky works with the CADCA Institute to provide coalitions across the nation top-notch social media training. Following a successful personal coaching session at CADCA’s 2009 Mid-Year Training Institute he teamed up with LaDonna Coy, Media Consultant and Prevention Specialist; Sue Stine, Senior Manager of Dissemination and Coalition Relations for the CADCA Institute; and Thomas Workman, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine, to develop the CADCA Institute’s 2010 SoMe (Social Media) Webinar Series.

Beginning in 2010, Verhoosky worked with the SoMe team to present live social media workshops and trainings at CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute and the National Leadership Forum. He also worked with the team to develop the CADCA Institute’s “Social Media for Coalitions,” an interactive online resource to help coalitions use web-based tools to enhance communication with community members and other stakeholders. Verhoosky’s section of the resource focuses on “folksonomy,” the collaborative management of “tags” and titles to make content easier to find and access on multiple social media platforms.

“For my part, I wanted to show why social media works and help coalitions understand what they can do to make it work in their community,” Verhoosky said. “We want the primer to demystify social media so coalitions can understand how they can get their message out and how it can be found.”

View and interact with “Social Media for Coalitions.”

Help us keep the online Primer up to date by rating pages after you apply the resources.

For more information on the CADCA Institute’s social media resources, contact Sue Stine at 800-54-CADCA, Ext. 260 or sstine@cadca.org.