You may have heard this word thrown around on a national scale, but have you heard about our local coalitions? Maybe this term is unfamiliar to you altogether. According to Merriam-Webster, a coalition is a temporary alliance of distinct parties, persons, or states for joint action. In the field of prevention, this usually refers to representatives from 12 sectors of the community who come together for a common purpose.
CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) is the national organization who awards drug free communities grants lists the 12 sectors comprising of: youth, parents, business, media, schools, youth serving organizations, law enforcement, civic/volunteer organizations, religious/fraternal organizations, healthcare professionals, state/local/tribal government, and substance abuse organizations. To have a balanced representation of the community you are attempting to serve, it is optimal to have a representative from each sector.
In our five counties, we work with various coalitions dedicated to reducing the harms of drug use. The people who are involved are constantly shifting as people move, retire, change jobs, pass away, etc. as it is with any organic group of people. Most operate in a similar way; the members agree to certain goals and values utilizing data to help inform their plan of action. After the plan is enacted, data must then be collected to evaluate the effectiveness and then adjust their method based on the findings. The approach is quite scientific with about a million variables, making for an experiment which can have surprising results.
Listed here are the coalitions CAAFL is currently involved with as of April 2026.
If you live or work in any of these communities, you too can become involved in our work.
Seneca
Coalitions United: Suicide Prevention, Opioid Task Force, Financial Wellness, and Substance Abuse all under the umbrella of United Way of Seneca County Rhonda Jasper rhonda@uwseneca.org https://www.uwseneca.org/
Wayne
Suicide Prevention Office of Mental Health Suzanne Catholdi SCatholdi@waynecountyny.gov
WHIP with the following subcommittees: Nutrition Security, Housing Affordability and Stability, Anxiety and Stress Haley Mirarchi HMirarchi@waynecountyny.gov
Wayne Partnership Workgroup using the Cradle-to-Career (and beyond) framework with the following workgroups
Early Childhood Children & Youth Youth & Young Adult Adult & Family Wayne MOST Community Schools Coalition Youth Voices Diane Kellogg dkellogg@caafl.org
https://www.waynepartnership.org/workgroups
Yates
YPC Yates Prevention Coalition Committees: Outreach and Implementation, Suicide Prevention, Substance Use Prevention.
lisa.principio@yatescountyny.gov
https://www.yatescountyny.gov/661/Yates-Prevention-Coalition
Schuyler
SCCUDD Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Drugs
rbenedict@schuylercountyny.gov https://www.schuylercountyny.gov/437/SCCUDD
Ontario
Hope and Healing Network Christine.Lotyczewski@ontariocountyny.gov
Veterans Coalition via Ontario Cares Luke@ontariocares.org https://ontariocares.org/veterans-coalition/