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By Andrea Orest, Public Health Educator at Cook County Public Health and Human Services - April 17, 2024

Are you interested in substance misuse and suicide prevention in our community?  Cook County Public Health and Human Services is partnering with local community members and organizations on the creation of a Prevention Coalition that meets monthly.

What is a coalition? A coalition is a diverse group of people, organizations, and community leaders that come together to achieve a common goal, creating long-term social change.  The many layers of voices are essential to representing the diverse viewpoints within our community.  

What positive impacts can a coalition have on a community?  Coalitions influence the future.  They can strengthen collaborative relationships between public and private organizations and individuals, build support for interventions and programming, plan for and launch community-wide initiatives, and advocate for policy change.

Why is your voice important?  We welcome participation and representation from the entire community – youth, parents, schools, organizations, persons who use substances, persons in treatment and/or recovery, businesses, and other interested community members.  Everyone’s voice matters when we are talking about community programming and initiatives.  Youth voices are important because they are the ones growing up in our community, and their upbringing will affect their entire lives.  Parent voices are important because they have first-hand experience with how the community is affecting our youth.  People with lived experience around substance misuse and/or suicide bring a valuable perspective on how their experiences led them to where they are today.  School and community leader voices are important because their policies and leadership skills affect how a community can act in support of prevention.

Interested in joining or looking for more information?  Contact Andrea Orest, Public Health Educator, at Cook County PHHS at [email protected].