June 2018 - Parks & Recreation - 49

tor, " We started doing programs in
Canton for middle and high school
students, running summer-long
camps and keeping kids busy at the
most vulnerable time of the year. "
From a prevention standpoint, it's
about making certain kids and teens
aren't doing drugs in the first place.

Banning Together
to Find Solutions
Although Pirelli now serves as assistant dean developing recreation
leadership graduate programs at
Mount Ida College and as a faculty member teaching recreation
management classes at Bridgewater State University, he remains on
the executive board of the Massachusetts Recreation and Park Association. In 2015, when he was at
Canton Parks and Rec, he joined
the Canton Alliance Against Substance Abuse Coalition (CAASA),
which includes the police chief, fire
chief and a couple of community
members. Its mission is " to reduce
the demand and the abuse of drugs
and alcohol in the Canton community, with a special focus on middle
and high school-age students, while
creating a culture of good decision
making. " Pirelli served as chair of
the coalition, as it moved from a
private group to become an operating arm of the community. What's
more, CAASA maintains an operation budget of $10,000 a year, in
addition to community donations.
Strasser says West Allis-West Milwaukee has several coalitions and her
department plays a key role in each of
them. With the Community Alliance
Against Drugs (CAAD), for instance,
she says some of her staff are seated
board members, " and their mission
is to provide education that is tied
through events in the community that
are drug and alcohol free, and geared
toward a family atmosphere. "

Starting a Coalition
For park and recreation agencies
cies
looking to spearhead a drug awareareness and prevention program in
their community, Pirelli recomomoremends doing due diligence beforehand. " The first person to ask is either the police chief or fire chief, "
ef, "
he suggests. " Every rec professiononal needs to start there. " Police or
fire officials might already serve on
an official town committee or coalition that could lead to a partnership opportunity for a park agency.
Another option would be to find a
nonprofit and dovetail with it.
Strasser also touts the importance
of partnerships. She says, " The coalitions have acknowledged verbally
the value that we bring to the table
by partnering with them. It's been
very positive for us. " Strasser cautions
other park and rec agencies against
working in a silo. " Don't be afraid to
at least look into teaming with other
organizations or coalitions, " she says.
Pursue it and ask many questions.
" The potential opportunities and value that you can bring to them and that
they could provide to your agency are
immeasurable and extremely important to our work in our communities. "
What if a coalition does not exist in your community? The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of
America (CADCA) (www.cadca.
org) offers myriad resources that
champion the efforts of coalition
networks. For example, CADCA's
Membership Department can help
park agencies network with existing coalitions, matching the two by
geographic location and other interests. CADCA also offers a starter kit for those interested in launching their own coalition. Once park
agencies have established their
community coalition, they should
research available grants for additional funding. Federal grants and

Opioid Crisis
by the Numbers
Citing data from the National Vital Statistics System
(NVSS), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the highest drug overdose death
rates in 2016, occurred in West Virginia, Ohio, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania. According to the
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), prescription opioids, like OxyContin and Percocet, attributed
to approximately 14,400 overdose deaths in 2016,
while heroin was linked to more than 15,400 fatalities.
NCHS' statistics also reveal that more than 20,100 lethal overdoses were traced to non-methadone synthetic opioids, like Fentanyl.

resources are available through
the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Administration (SAMHSA) (www.samhsa.gov).

A Community United
Pirelli strongly believes that park
and recreation professionals have a
duty to their community to take the
lead when it comes to these coalitions. They should invite community
stakeholders, police and fire officials,
school administrators, nonprofits
and for-profit entities to the table for
an open dialogue about substance
abuse and to develop sound strategies for offering programs for treatment, recovery and prevention.
After all, the more community
members come together to find real
solutions and create awareness, the
more successful they will be in ensuring that their children stay on the
right path toward a healthy and happy future.
Vitisia Paynich is a California-based Freelance Writer for
Parks and Recreation magazine.

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June 2018 - Parks & Recreation

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