It's been a big month for the Coalition!
Already this year, Coalition leaders have been making a name for us on the national stage. In January, our coordinator, Andrea, was invited to attend Michigan's State of The State Address as a guest of Michigan State Representative, Emily Dievendorf. Andrea had a wonderful opportunity to share our work with other legislators, community service organizations, and our region's leaders. We're incredibly thankful to Andrea for being a guiding light, and to our community for building such a strong network of support.
In February, Andrea and Heather were invited to present about diversity and social justice work at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America National Conference. Their presentation displayed the connections between diversity, equity, and inclusion work and substance use prevention for a crowd of several hundred people. They highlighted the impact of inclusion, reducing substance use and suicide, especially in young people. This was not only a fantastic learning experience for us, but we were able to grow an even greater network of resources, partners, and support through evidence-based research.
Ultimately, we are so grateful for Andrea and the countless hours she puts in to grow our little Coalition and to serve our community. She continues to go above and beyond to fill our community with love and acceptance, and we can see the impact.
