South Sacramento coalition members go to Washington, D.C.

by Emily Bender
Coalition Coordinator,
South Sacramento Coalition for Future Leaders

Traveling to the East Coast for weeklong trainings has been a regular event for the South Sacramento Coalition for Future Leaders the past two months. As a grantee for the Drug-Free Communities program, the coalition is required to attend annual trainings hosted by SAMHSA and CADCA. Phuong Duong and I are attending first-year trainings. One highlight of our latest trip to Capitol Hill was the opportunity to meet with our congressional representative, Doris Matsui. She and her staff are interested in learning more about our coalition’s plans to enhance the community with art opportunities and job skills training for our youth. We hope to keep the lines of communication with her staff open, keeping them informed of our future events.

The SSCFL plans to invite coalition members, our new coalition chair and several youth leaders to future trainings. Although these conferences require a lot of travel time and funding, they are exciting, motivating and give guests the opportunity to learn from successful coalitions. We look forward to bringing back the tools and resources learned at these conferences to share with our members and youth!

The South Sacramento Coalition for Future Leaders is a REACH Community Action coalition. In 2008, the coalition received a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to reduce alcohol, tobacco and drug abuse among teens and adults in the community.