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\u201cCOVID-19 has made a huge impact on our coalition and community,\u201d said HOPE Coalition\u2019s Prevention Coordinator Vera Gibson, \u201c<\/strong>and unfortunately it has disrupted friends, families and community member\u2019s lives. \u201cBecause of this, coalitions across the nation have been looking at new and creative ways to spread and share information with their community. It has become a challenge for many, because what was once acceptable is now frowned upon because of the rules of social distancing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPrior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff was thriving in the school setting and in the community,\u201d said Gibson. \u201cWe were making strides in what we wanted to accomplish, a healthier drug-free community for both our youth and community members. This included providing alternative drug-free activities where our youth felt welcome and safe. Because those days are behind us until COVID-19 passes, we had to put our thinking caps on and be more creative on how we could share information that would still allow our youth and community members to feel safe and hopefully at ease with what\u2019s taking place in our country.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe staff of the HOPE Coalition decided that a project they wanted to tackle was creating our own podcast,\u201d said Gibson. \u201cThe increased wave of social media has now become the platform to share and let our community know that we are still here, even if it is behind the scenes. In honor of National Recovery Month, we decided to take on this challenge in the hope that our message would be accepted and shared on a digital platform.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n