Featured Community Coalition of the Month!

Click here for: January 2012: VOICES Coalition (Lubbock ,TX) and Zero Tolerance (ZT) Youth Coalition (Robertson County, TX

December 2011: Midland Coalition

1). What is the main focus of your coalition? 
The main focus of our coalition is to address substance abuse in all forms in our community especially focusing on reducing underage drinking, tobacco abuse and prescription drugs in Midland County. This focus not only includes finding ways to reduce the use but also educating our community about the risks and dangers and educating our youth on how to make good choices in every area of their lives including alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.

2). What makes your coalition great? What make you proud of your coalition?
In the 9 years we’ve been in existence we have been able to accomplish and incorporate several environmental changes in our community, our most recent being that of our medication take-back program and very well received social norms campaign around tobacco. We also have been able to overcome resistance that we first met from some Midland agencies and organizations and now have a great working relationship with them which has opened doors for us to do the work of the coalition. We are very proud of our coalition for the way they care about our mission and have been so dedicated to carry out each goal we set out to accomplish.

3). What does your coalition do well to achieve its goals? Are there any special services your coalition/agency offers? 
Our coalition members are committed to our mission which in turn helps us to achieve our goals. One of the services our coalition offers is that each monthly meeting we make time for each member to introduce themselves and give a brief announcement about what is happening at their agency/business and also any volunteer opportunities for us to assist them with at their agency or function. We believe that in helping at their functions, this will encourage volunteer help at coalition functions and makes our partnerships stronger. This has been very successful in partnering with others in the community.

The Midland Police Department also conducts minor sting operations monthly to make sure that local retailers are not selling alcohol and/or tobacco to minors. We are grateful for the partnership we have with local law enforcement including the Midland County Sherriffs office, DEA, TX DPS, and others.

Additionally we have been conducting the medication take back program which has lead to the opportunity to place permanent drop boxes in two locations which will happen very soon. This will enable people to properly dispose of their medications throughout the year.

4). What special projects or initiatives is your coalition working on or has completed that you feel will benefit your target population/the efforts of preventionists in Texas?
Our most recent accomplishment over the past year, has been our medication take back program and our 84 social norms campaign.. We have conducted several medication take backs and this has grown with each event.  We have collected over 250,000 pills and 100+ gallons of liquid medications. Along with the take back of the medications, we also have partnered with Keep Midland Beautiful and after documenting what is turned in, we give them our empty medication bottles for recycle. This has been such a successful program that we have had 2 permanent medication drop off boxes built and will be placing them in our community for 24/7 access. At this time we are confirming locations. Another big accomplishment during this past year has been our social norms campaign, “Leon Neon 84” that we did for Texas Tobacco Free Kids day. Our message of 84% of Midland Youth Choose To Live Tobacco Free was rolled out over a six week period. This was a huge success and we have continued it through out the year and have continued to grow this positive message in our community while keeping the issue of tobacco use at the forefront. The campaign continues to be a topic of conversation in Midland because of the positive nature of the message. http://www.facebook.com/LeonNeon84

5). What activities or services will your coalition be focusing  on during the time period that it is featured on www.coalitionstexas.org (December 5th-January 5th, 2012)? Are there any timely messages that should be communicated? 
During the month of December, the coalition will be very busy with finalizing details to place our permanent medication drop off boxes as well as continuing to conduct presentations and our school and community surveys. We will also be focusing on Celebration Midland, to help provide a safe, family friendly, alcohol, tobacco and other drug free New Years Eve community event for families in Midland and the surrounding communities. People come from across the Permian Basin to attend this successful event. This has been a growing event and is contributes greatly to the safety of our community by providing this safe atmosphere to celebrate the New Year.

6). How do interested individuals join your coalition? Who should interested individuals contact?
We have many ways people can join our coalition but generally it is through public presentations and invitation by other coalition members that they become aware and interested in our coalition. We are continually looking for additional community partners and ask them to sign Community Agreements to commit to looking for opportunities and ideas to create positive change. We also direct people to our link at www.pdap.org and our http://www.facebook.com/LeonNeon84 or they can always contact us via telephone at 432-685-3645.