Woman’s Voice: This special program is brought to you by the Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. Guests provide information about upcoming events, resources available, and the many ways to help reduce substance use and promote a healthy Lenawee.
Kathy Williams: This is Kathy Williams and with me on tonight’s program is Madeline DeMarco. Madeline is the Community Outreach and Prevention Coordinator with the Lenawee Community Mental Health Authority, and she’s also the coalition coordinator for LSAPC in Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, which is what we are talking about tonight. Madeline, first off, thanks for taking time out.
Madeline DeMarco: Thanks for being here with me.
Kathy Williams: So we want to talk about the Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. You’ve got several members, but you’ve got a meeting coming up and we want to invite the public people that are interested to attend the meeting.
Madeline DeMarco: Absolutely. Exciting things are really coming for the Prevention Coalition and we are inviting all of you out there listening to be a part of it. We’re almost done with a three year grant that helped us do some really incredible things to promote safe and responsible substance use in our community, and we’ve been hard at work making sure that we have everything we need to keep a lot of this great work going after that grant is over. And we know that we’re stronger together as a community. That’s one of our strengths here in Lenawee County. So we need you to help take us to the next level.
Kathy Williams: Exactly. You know, that is one thing that I think especially outsiders that move to Lenawee County are just totally amazed at a whole different way that people come together, they support each other. We’re very supportive of the different nonprofits in our agencies, in our area, and, you know, just helping anyone that’s in any kind of crisis. We, we really do a wonderful job with that. So what have you got coming up then?
Madeline DeMarco: So on May 3rd, we will be gathering with everyone who’s part of the Prevention Coalition, or who might be listening to this and interested in the work that we’re doing, from 8:30 AM to 10:00 AM in the Lenawee County Human Services Building. And this gathering is really going to celebrate everything that we’ve been able to achieve over the past three years and launch the next phase of the work. We know that our focus is really about creating a community where everyone has what we need to live healthy and fulfilled lives that aren’t defined by substance use. But we really want to know “what can we be doing as a coalition to get there? What are our biggest priorities here in our community? What do we need to know and what resources do we have together that we can, that we can share?” And that’s what we’re going to be figuring out at this meeting.
Kathy Williams: So I think that that is a very important thing to get people from all over different demographics, different lifestyles in our community because we’re always wondering how do we, how do we communicate with different people that are in different situations? I mean, we, we offer all these great things, but are we telling the right people? Are we connecting with the right people? And so this meeting then would be a way to find out some of those answers.
Madeline DeMarco: Yes, we know that substance use affects all of us here in our community, and we also know that you are all the expert in your own lives. And so for us to be able to meet your needs and priorities around substance use in the community, we need to hear from you about what those are. So whether you have a background in substance use and work in this field, or you’ve been personally affected by it, or just interested in creating a safer and healthier community for us to live in. We, we want to hear from you. We need you to do this work.
Kathy Williams: It’s not a lot of commitment. It is just help us learn more about ways that we can connect and eliminate, or at least help subside substance abuse in our area.
Madeline DeMarco: Yes. This first commitment is just an hour and a half, and from there you can be as involved or not as you want to be. So if you want to get involved in more of the projects you can, or if you just want to get on our newsletter and get, you know, an email once a month to learn the latest about substance use in our community, you can do that too. So there’s really something for everyone here.
Kathy Williams: Yeah. Sounds like a great meet. And again, it’s on May 3rd at the Lenawee County Human Service Building, which is on what?
Madeline DeMarco: Winter Street. Yep. And that’ll be at 8:30 AM.
Kathy Williams: Short commitment. Lots of information will be gathered. Thanks so much, Madeline. We appreciate you.
Madeline DeMarco: Thank you for having me. I hope to see you all there.
Woman’s Voice: The Lenawee Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition is supported by funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Thank you for listening. New messages air on the second and fourth Monday each month at 6:15 PM. You can listen to this program as a podcast under the “on air audio” tab on WLEN.com and get more information at DrugPreventionLenawee.com.
