Step 2: Mobilize and build capacity

Recruiting coalition members

A coalition is defined by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) as “a formal arrangement for collaboration between groups or sectors of a community, in which each group retains its identity but all agree to work together toward a common goal of building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.”

Coalitions should include the people most affected by the problem, people with influence (both formal and informal), and representation from a myriad of community sectors.  A coalition should also be culturally diverse, and representative of the community which it serves.

Standard community coalition development encourages coalitions to recruit representatives from various community sectors, including:

• Youth (under 18)
• Parents
• Business community
• Civic and volunteer groups
• Media
• Healthcare professionals
• Religious/fraternal organizations
• Youth-serving organizations
• Schools
• Law enforcement agencies
• State/local/tribal government agencies with substance abuse expertise
• Other organizations involved in reducing substance abuse

Though every community coalition is unique, these sectors are a reasonable starting point for coalition member recruitment.  Few coalitions are successful in recruiting and maintaining regular involvement from all the identified sectors.  Some do not even attempt to be this broad-based; because of their origins, they have a very specific target and do not require involvement from all the sectors.  Others add representation from sectors as the coalition evolves and expands.

The key is to begin engaging the community in change efforts.  The membership of the coalition will grow and expand throughout the community engagement process.

Some of the tasks involved in the recruitment stage:

• Find out who else shares your concern about the problem you want to address.
• Identify leaders, including individuals who can help organize a prevention effort, and agencies and organizations capable of mobilizing others.
• Choose groups, agencies, organizations and leaders who can be responsible and will follow through.
• Identify resources within the community and those outside that can be made available to support your prevention program or project.

Engaging community members at every level of your efforts is the hallmark of effective coalition efforts. In addition, the leadership of a coalition is fundamental to the group’s work.  Leadership has more information, iincluding how to meaningfully engage youth in your community efforts at the decision-making level.

Access the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) primer on mobilizing and building capacity.

Mobilizing your community for change

Once enough members have been recruited to reach a critical mass, hold a meeting. The meeting must have purpose – no meeting for the sake of meeting.  An initial meeting agenda should include some of the following items:

• Presentation of data illustrating the alcohol, tobacco, and/or other drug use problems facing the community.
• Introductions, including members’ investment in this issue: How am I (or my constituency) affected by alcohol, tobacco and other drug use within our community? What do I see as the problems associated with alcohol, tobacco and other drugs? How committed am I to helping change our community environment?
• Status check: Does the coalition have enough representation to begin the work of creating a vision and delving into environmental strategies? Or should the coalition focus initially on raising awareness of the issue and recruiting more members?
• Next steps, including tasks divided among as many members as possible.
• Date for next meeting.

A community coalition that determines it needs to raise awareness and recruit more members before embarking on visioning and environmental strategies can accomplish those tasks in many ways. If they have not already done so, some coalitions will choose to initiate a community survey as a means to engage the existing coalition members while gathering more specific data to use in recruiting additional members to the coalition.

Some coalitions will plan and implement a town hall meeting or “briefing” – an event orchestrated to provide a public discussion about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs within the community.  A town hall meeting typically includes a panel with various community representatives providing brief comments about the impact of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs on the community from their perspective and then responding to audience questions.  Town hall meetings can lend significant energy and attention to a burgeoning coalition, while also serving as a mechanism to recruit new members.

Conducting a town hall meeting is no small task.  Considering it may be the first public event of the coalition, having a successful town hall meeting can go a long way toward the ongoing success of the coalition.   More information on conducting a town hall meeting is available through the Smart and Sober Town Hall Meeting Toolkit on the Ohio Resource Network web site.  The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) also has a strategizer – Community Briefings: A Prevention Tool for Communities.

Another key element of early community coalition meetings is to educate its members on environmental prevention strategies.  Ensuring coalition members have this knowledge can be integral to the next step.

Continue to Step 3: Develop a comprehensive strategic plan
Return to Ohio Center for Coalition Excellence page