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\u201c<\/span>Deerfield Valley<\/span> is a\u00a0small rural resort community in Southern Vermont<\/span>," disse\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>oalition\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>oordinator<\/span>, and CADCA Coalition Advisory Committee member,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Cindy Hayford<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Our coalition, the Deerfield Valley Community Partnership, is in its 25<\/span>\u00ba<\/span>\u00a0year. We are 10 years out of the DFC, which we had from 2000-2010.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn light of the COVID-19 pandemic, w<\/span>e have moved all meetings to virtual platforms<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford. \u201c<\/span>Along with continuing with many of our current strategies (as we are able), we have focused on community outreach to offer support around\u00a0<\/span>COVID<\/span>-19. We are\u00a0<\/span>also\u00a0<\/span>participating in community service activities such as making\u00a0<\/span>masks\u00a0<\/span>to distribute to the community<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0fundraising for our local food pantry<\/span>\u00a0e\u00a0<\/span>sharing information on resources to our community coalition members and partners<\/span>. We are also\u00a0<\/span>implementing a\u00a0<\/span>'<\/span>Hello Campaign<\/span>\u2019<\/span>\u00a0to let folks know we are thinking of them and reminding them that we are all still connected<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0and gathering information on healthy, fun family activities to share.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>We have seen a drop in engagement due to school closings and all of our in-person trainings and family\/youth events being cancelled, but we have gained new partners<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe have begun\u00a0<\/span>a new collaboration\u00a0<\/span>com\u00a0<\/span>the local<\/span>\u00a0Voices of Hope Group, Rotary Club and library to create a resource guide to distribute through Meals on Wheels and School Meal Deliveries.\u00a0<\/span>We\u2019re also p<\/span>artnering with the Wings Afterschool program to send personal letters to our seniors who are missing the end of their senior year and graduation.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>To keep our community engaged in our work, w<\/span>e are using virtual meetings, emails, information sent home through school contacts and social media (Facebook for the adults,\u00a0<\/span>SnapChat<\/span>\u00a0for the youth), and offering virtual training (i.e., vaping cessation)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>We are sending\u00a0<\/span>y<\/span>oyos home to youth with our logo and the message\u00a0<\/span>\u2018l<\/span>ife is full of ups and downs. The trick is to enjoy the ups and have courage during the downs<\/span>.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>In addition, we sent a mail<\/span>ed<\/span>\u00a0newsletter out to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>2500 homes with a reminder of who we are and what we do<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>The cover had photos of all of our youth members for recognition and to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>highlight the prevention work they have done, so they know we are thinking of them and\u00a0<\/span>to\u00a0<\/span>remind them that they are valued.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>We have seen an increase in local partnerships<\/span>\u00a0e<\/span>\u00a0an increase in statewide coalition connections to support each other through bi-weekly Zoom calls to share ideas<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cS<\/span>taff have taken this opportunity to participate in multiple learning opportunities like CADCA<\/span>\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0Webinar Wednesdays, state sponsored webinars, etc. In addition, due to in person and family events being cancelled, we have been able to amend grant funds to allow for the hiring of a social media consultant to assist with increasing our use of multiple social media platforms and adding new software and technology.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>Adding additional community work around C<\/span>OVID<\/span>-19 (masks, food pantry, Hello Campaign) has kept us engaged and allowed us to offer support that is parallel to our substance misuse prevention work<\/span>,\u201d said Hayford.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cDeerfield Valley is a\u00a0small rural resort community in Southern Vermont,\u201d said\u00a0Coalition\u00a0Coordinator, and CADCA Coalition Advisory Committee member,\u00a0Cindy Hayford.\u00a0\u201cOur coalition, the<\/p>","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":3210,"template":"","resource_type":[281,289],"drug_specific_issues":[],"action_to_do":[],"class_list":["post-17160","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-coalitions-online","resource_type-covid-19"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n