CTC Coalition Represents Putnam at CADCA’s 24th Annual National Leadership Forum

Washington, D.C. – Substance abuse prevention advocates from the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition headed to Washington, D.C. Feb. 3-6, 2014 and joined nearly 2,500 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists and advocates from throughout the country for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's (CADCA) 24th Annual National Leadership Forum. CADCA’s National Leadership Forum is the nation's largest training for substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and researchers.

The 2014 conference’s theme, The Power of the Movement, reiterated the fact that years of careful, thoughtful evidence-based strategic planning can ultimately change beliefs, behaviors and community norms—and that effective drug prevention requires participation of an entire community, knowledge of its demographics and norms and formation of strategic alliances. The conference featured a number of speakers who are mission-critical in this effort to protect communities, such as Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) who spoke about the harm of adolescent marijuana use; Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy; Pamela Hyde, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator; and Frances Harding, Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. Participants also heard some inspirational words of wisdom from leadership expert Brigadier General Barrye L. Price, Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army and R & B Singer Mario from the Mario Do Right Foundation.

The Coalition also had the opportunity to meet and brief Senators and members of Congress from their state during CADCA’s Capitol Hill Day. Putnam County CTC Coalition members Kristin McConnell, Co-Chairperson and Executive Director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Dependencies, Elaine Santos, Coalition Coordinator for the Putnam CTC Coalition, and Coalition member Dawn Mullins met with representatives from the offices of Senator Charles Schumer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and with Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (pictured) to share the importance of sustaining Drug Free Community Coalitions.

“We are so excited to be able to spend a week in our nation’s Capitol, learning and honing our prevention skills so our community can be a better place, one that is educated and protected from the harms of drug and alcohol abuse,” stated Kristin McConnell, Coalition Co-Chairperson.   

The Coalition has recently worked on school and community based prevention seminars, pre prom presentations, Medication Take Back Days, compliance checks, etc. The Coalition is also preparing to administer the 2014 Prevention Needs Assessment Survey at all County school districts this Spring.

CADCA's National Leadership Forum featured more than 50 training courses to help community and state leaders prevent and reduce substance abuse and its related problems. CADCA is the national membership organization representing more than 5,000 coalitions and affiliates working to make America’s communities safe, healthy and drug-free.

Members of the Putnam CTC Coalition are available if you have any questions on any substance abuse trends that affect our children. Please call the Putnam County Communities That Care Coalition at 845-225-4646, Ext. 13 for information and referrals. Please visit and join us on Facebook by searching “Putnam County Communities That Care – NY” or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/PutnamCTCNY or call 845-225-4646.