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Following the success of our first-ever Virtual Mid-Year Training Institute, CADCA is implementing the feedback we\u2019re hearing from our prevention advocates on working during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we listen to your success stories, one major theme has emerged: no coalition can work alone in the fight against substance use and misuse. That\u2019s why we brought on Joy Sweeney, Ph.D.,<\/strong> our newest Deputy Director of Training, Coalition Development TA & Outreach.<\/p>\n Sweeney\u2019s job is to ensure that all CADCA coalitions have access to our resources, trainings and support when they need it. She\u2019s particularly well-suited for this role, as she spent the last 11 years working as the Executive Director of the Council for Drug-Free Youth in Jefferson City, Missouri. Having experienced the day-to-day realities of community coalition work, Sweeney knows how important it is for coalitions to feel connected.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2013, my coalition took on the process of applying for a Drug-Free Communities (DFC) grant,\u201d said Sweeney. \u201cI was one person, working part-time, and I was responsible for the entire application process. It felt like an insurmountable challenge, until I attended ONDCP\u2019s DFC New Applicant Workshop at CADCA\u2019s National Leadership Forum and learned about how other coalitions had successfully applied for and received DFC funding. After that, I kept tapping into more people that I met through CADCA and my application was successful.\u201d<\/p>\n Sweeney says receiving the DFC grant and utilizing her connections with other community prevention advocates was the turning point for her coalition. \u201cI was able to start working full-time, hire a project coordinator, bring more people in and start building capacity for the organization\u2026 this was the catalyst for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n In her new role with CADCA, Sweeney hopes to bring the same feeling of connected, unified work to others. \u201cI want to guide our coalitions on how they can be empowered to make changes and impact their community in a positive way,\u201d said Sweeney. \u201cI think a lot of us face the challenge of working in silos. We\u2019re all attacking the same issues, but we\u2019re not working collaboratively. Having a resource like CADCA to bring these entities together and provide resources to effectively address these issues is invaluable. I would love to play a role in being the impetus for that change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As we seek to bring community prevention advocates together, we recognize the challenge that the global COVID-19 pandemic poses to this goal. However, we also realize that our work may be more vital now than ever before. \u201cSometimes it takes a set of really terrible circumstances to show us the opportunities we weren\u2019t taking advantage of in our work,\u201d said Sweeney. \u201cWe\u2019re now seeing coalitions utilize technology to find the interested groups in their communities and empower these people to become prevention advocates. We\u2019re able to reach more people than ever before, and we\u2019re seeing engagement in our work increase as a result. Despite the necessity of physical distance, our field feels more unified than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt the same time, the isolation and stress of this pandemic is causing more mental health and substance use and misuse issues,\u201d said Sweeney. \u201cThose challenges show us where we need to step up our game and figure out how to create the sense of community and belonging, even in this challenging environment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n