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A group of eight COPE Coalition members attended the National Mentoring Summit in September. The goal was to gain valuable insights into strengthening our bond with youth within our community, and the outcome was a new appreciation for the Mentoring field. All of the participants stated that they enjoyed the workshops and speakers that were at the Summit. An added bonus was the fact that the Summit was held at the Disneyland resort. Mickey Mouse was present at the beginning and at the end of the Summit.
Wake Up! All Night Rally
COPE Coalition organized this collaborative event for approximately 90 youth from the Phoenix area. The youth came from the Phoenix Police Wake Up! afterschool program, TERROS youth groups, the Phoenix Police Explorer group and other youth from the area around Isaac Middle School. Several agencies participated as well, such as Volviendo a Vivir, Touchstone Behavioral Health, the Boys & Girls Club, TERROS, the Phoenix Police and many more. The youth attended several educational workshops pertaining to substance abuse prevention, nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle. The photo above is from a improv theater performance given by the Arizona Jewish Theater youth group. The event was a success, and the participants had a lot of fun!
CADCA National Leadership Forum XIX
A delegation of Arizona coalitions and agencies attended the National Leadership Forum this year in Maryland.The setting for the forum was stunning on the shores of the Potomic River. COPE Coalition sent seven members this year to the conference. The attendees gained valuable insights on the latest strategies to fight substance abuse and heard from nationally-known experts and policymakers. We met face-to-face with Arizona Senator John McCain outside his office on Capital Hill, and spoke with his staff about the importance of supporting policies that aid substance abuse prevention.
DEA presents on Current Drug Trends in AZ
During our February coalition meeting we invited the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Doug Coleman, from the Phoenix DEA office to speak on the current drug trends in Arizona. The presentation was very thorough.ASAC Colman provided detailed information on the drug cartels in Mexico, the amount of specific drugs apprehended in recent years, and emerging trends related to drug use.
COPE Coalition hosted its March meeting at Cinema Latino. The event had over 90 participants from the community and local agencies. The coalition began the event with community announcements, and also provided a series of workshops on a variety of topics. The topics were: Returning Veterens, Foster Children, Police Activity in Maryvale, Traditional Media, Social Media and Marijuana (4:20). The meeting ended with an option of watching one of two movies, Coreline & Paul Blart: Mall Cop. The attendees learned valuable information while eating popcorn, and ended the meeting with a movie! Can you think of a better format for a community meeting?
This year's Cinco de Mayo celebration had a great turn out!The popular DJ from 95.1 Latino Vibe, El Cubanito, came out to MC the event and address the crowd. Several agencies from around the valley participated and provided information to the public regarding their services. The celebration also had a series of workshops that educated the participants about alcohol and drug awareness and prevention. The highlight of the event was most definitely the music and dancers, such as those in the photo above. 
COPE Coalition Alcohol-Free Quinceanera
September 5th, 2009 at Carl Hayden Community High School
On Saturday, September 5th, COPE Coalition hosted the 1st Annual Alcohol-Free Quinceañera at Carl Hayden Community High School for 13 young ladies. The focus of the event was to demonstrate that a Quinceañera can be celebrated successfully without the influence of alcohol. Alcohol is the drug that is abused most by youth in Arizona. Youth that start drinking in their early teens are much more likely to become involved with illegal drugs, as well as increase their likelihood of becoming an alcoholic as an adult. read more
Maryvale Youth in Action is one of COPE Coalition's active youth groups. They seek to improve their community and health of their peers through drug and alcohol-free alternative activities. They decided to host the Peace Festival as a way to highlight local artists and to promote positive social activities for youth within the community. It was called the Peace Festival because it was held on the Universal Peace Day. The youth really did a great job planning & organizing for this event. The entertainment component of the festival included an open mic where youth were given the opportunity to express their desire to lead drug-free lives through different means of artistic expression: rap, break dancing, drawing, singing, etc. A very special guest, Arizona-based internationally renowned artist Zarco Guerrero performed his acclaimed Face to Face one man play. This is a play designed to show the errors of stereotyping individuals based on appearance, culture, personality, and past. Members from Volviendo a Vivir closed the event with messages of their personal experience with drugs and alcohol, their recovery, and their new affirmation to promote prevention. The event also hosted a health & awareness fair in which several agencies attended. The whole event drew approximately 400 people from the community.
In an effort to reduce the impact on the environment and to keep unprescribed medications out of the hands of youth, COPE Coalition partnered with Golden Gate Community Center/Arizona’s Children Association, Cricket Pavillion, Phoenix Police, U.S. D.E.A.(Phoenix Office), TERROS and several community agencies and local businesses to host the "Medication Collection & Disposal Day". The outcome was very successful!
People from Phoenix and surrounding communities, such as Surprise and Sun City, dropped off a variety of unwanted or expired prescription and over-the-counter medications, including painkillers, cancer treatment drugs, nitroglycerine, cold medication, ointments, patches, diabetes medication, vitamin supplements, pet medications, antibiotics, and more. Approximately 250-300 pounds of drugs were turned in.
Maryvale Police Precinct Community Action Officers were on site to take possession of the narcotics. All of the medications collected will be safely disposed of by the Police Department. Volunteers ranged from community members to pharmacists from Cigna and CVS Pharmacy who gave of their time to make this event successful. In addition, kudos to the seven kids at the Jerry Colangelo Branch of the Boys & Girls Club for their creative, winning entries in the art poster contest; Wal-Mart awarded gift certificates to each child.
"The most moving visitors were several widow/widowers that had not known what to do with all their spouses meds that they took and who were glad to have a place to bring it." -Phyllis Habib, Director, Golden Gate Community Center
In the place of the regular meeting for the month of January, the COPE Coalition hosted a Retreat that was meant to bring the community together to discuss relevant topics related to the structure of the coalition, sustainability of the coalition & concerns within the community. It was also a great event for getting better acquainted with one another!
We had about 35 attendees that participated in the retreat. We were glad to have a large representation of youth at this meeting, as several youth members provided valuable feedback to the coalition. One youth member commented that parents should be more responsible for creating an open conversation with their kids regarding drug & alcohol abuse. This youth member thought that the coalition should focus more on encouraging parents to take more of an active approach with their kids to prevent drug & alcohol consumption, rather than the coalition focusing on educating kids. (comments are paraphrased, and should not be considered quotations).
Four members of COPE Coalition braved one of the harshest winter storms by attending the 20th Annual CADCA Leadership Forum in National Harbor, Maryland. They attended informational workshops related to the theme of "Restoring Communities." A couple of web-based resources that were brought back from the conference are CADCA-TV and the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training program; each of which provides free online training videos related to drug & alcohol prevention.
February 15, 2010 at Cinema Latino, Desert Sky Mall
For the 2nd year in a row the COPE Coalition has had the pleasure of hosting a community meeting with our partners at Cinema Latino. This year we increased our attendance and reached over 100 community attendees. Our guest speaker this year was Ricardo Jasso, the CEO of Amistades, Inc., which is a substance abuse prevention organization in Tucson. Ricardo provided his presentation on the Aztec Alcohol Prevention Story. His presentation stated that the Aztec civilization had set up strick drinking regulations that included a prohibition on public intoxication as early as 1140 A.D. At the end of the meeting all of the attendees were able to enjoy a free screening of Tooth Fairy.
TERROS Administrative Office, Phoenix, AZ
National Drug Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske visited TERROS, a community-based substance abuse and mental health counseling agency, and COPE Coalition. During his visit, he was briefed on the collaborative efforts by both organizations to provide a continuum of care that includes prevention, treatment, and recovery to the Phoenix community.
Director Kerlikowske is responsible for developing the Obama Administration’s National Drug Control Strategy which seeks to foster healthy individuals and safe communities by effectively leading the Nation’s effort to reduce drug use and its consequences. The collaboration between TERROS and COPE is an example of the holistic approach to preventing and treating substance abuse, a key principle of the Nation’s drug strategy.
“I am encouraged by the work done by TERROS and COPE to integrate the services and support individuals and families need to reach and sustain long-term recovery in Phoenix,” said Director Kerlikowske. “The outcomes achieved in Phoenix are evidence of the positive results we can see when the prevention, treatment, and recovery communities work together to address local drug problems.”
TERROS provides critical mental health and substance abuse counseling services, HIV counseling, testing and prevention services, peer support, and mobile crisis intervention for families in the metropolitan Phoenix area.
A news release related to the visit can be found here.
Youth and parents from COPE Coalition and the Phoenix Police Wake Up! afterschool program participated in this year's All Night Rally. Parents were able to stay for the first few hours of the evening & hear a presentation on drug and alcohol prevention from the National Guard Drug Demand Reduction unit. The youth were able to participate in several activities, such as: a performance by the Arizona Jewish Theatre Troupe's Youth Improv group, All Rights Reserved (pictured above), educational workshops related to drug/alcohol prevention, nutrition, and team building, a dance, a movie, and a DUI Goggle workshop. The event was again a success for the 2nd year.
Blending Addiction Science and Practice: Evidence-Based Treatment and Prevention in Diverse Populations and Settings
COPE Coalition staff member, Jeff Welch, attended this worthwhile conference this year in the culturally rich setting in New Mexico. The conference provided an abundance of statistical data related to substance abuse treatment & prevention. As an agency, NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) provides the majority of the worldwide statistical & scientific data related to substance abuse. One of the key messages that was provided at this conference is the need to connect the data and scientific results with the treatment & prevention practitioners. The practitioners can benefits from these results by learning about what has & has not worked in previous settings with similar circumstances, and make appropriate adjustments to their own techniques to potentially improve the outcome.
We were lucky to have the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Mid-Year Forum come to us this year, as it was held in Phoenix. COPE Coalition was able to send four people this year. In the photo above, Juan R., who is one of our COPE Coalition youth volunteers, was able to participate in the week long National Youth Leadership Initiative. He was able to meet youth from all over the United States that were focused on reducing drug and alcohol abuse among their peers within their respective communities. At the end of the week, Juan was able to participate in a youth-choreographed dance that expressed components of the Strategic Prevention Framework. It was great to see all of the kids performing in various ways pertaining to prevention related topics.
In addition to this, members of the COPE Coalition Alcohol-Free Quinceañera planning committee were able to present at the CADCA Mid-Year Forum on the successful outcomes of last year's event and the progress made so far for this year's event. Two Alcohol-Free Quinceañera participant's also were able to participate in the presentation, along with two mothers of participants. The presentation was very well received by over 100 people from across the United States.
Click here to read an article about the conference from the CADCA website.
September 18, 2010
This year's Alcohol-Free Quinceañera turned out to be another huge success. This year we celebrated with 11 participants and their families at Club 602 (who donated their services) on 43rd Ave. & Thomas. We had over 300 guests enjoy the cultural traditions and lively atmosphere. The photo (taken by Luis Arambula) above shows the 11 participants and their beautiful dresses that were donated by Azteca Wedding Plaza, along with special guest Miss Arizona 2010, Kathryn Bulkley.
The community support was a key element in the success of this event. We had several volunteers that helped throughout the whole planning process, as well as during the night of the event itself. COPE Coalition would like to thank all of the individuals who assisted with putting this event together. D'Image Beauty College donated their services again this year to help prepare the hair & make-up for the participants. Diana's Bakery donated a cake again this year. The band, La Llegadora, played live music at the event. Additional support came from TERROS, the Drug Free Communities Support Program, Decoraciones LizJenn, DJ Norteño, Maricopa County Department of Public Health, TILT Youth group, Universal Flowers, Vision Video Productions and Golden Gate Community Center.
The most credit goes out to the participants, their family members and chamberlains that attended weekly classes for over two months in preparation for the Alcohol-Free Quinceañera. The classes were given by members of the Alcohol-Free Quinceañera Planning Committee and focused on adult responsibilities, alcohol/drug prevention, character-building and of course preparation for the choreographed dance during the event. On behalf of COPE Coalition and TERROS, a special thank you to all that participated and attended the 2010 Alcohol-Free Quinceañera. We look forward to hosting the 2011 Alcohol-Free Quinceañera. Interested participants can email info@copecoalitionaz.org to inquire about the details as we progress.
October 29th, 2010
This past Halloween, the youth from MOTION and COPE’s Youth Council combined efforts to create The House of Truthful Horrors, a haunted house focused on the consequences of making destructive decisions. This event was held at the Maryvale Community Center on October 29th. Participants at the event were able to observe scary situations from real life where individuals deal with horrifying consequences of terrible choices like Drinking and Driving, Teen Pregnancy, Gang Violence, and Drug Use.
The event was a total success! More than 100 people attended the event, and about $150 were raised for future events. In celebration of the success with their haunted house, I commend each one of the youth participants and volunteers for their dedication and hard work. You deserve to be proud of your achievement. May your future efforts be equally successful and rewarding. Thank you for the Best Halloween Event ever!
-Laura Alverez, COPE Coalition Staff
On Friday, May 15, 2009, the Canyon Corridor Community Coalition and the CC Weed & Seed hosted the Family Movie Night in Little Canyon Park.They had around 200 participants. "We had a great turn-out and great enthusiasm from all who attended." -quoted from Jak Kaiser, a local community leader.
Montebello Block Watch members helped to clean the streets and allys within their neighborhood on Saturday, Feb. 28th, 2009. The community takes pride in maintaining a clean neighborhood.
