Activating Your Community

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Background

There are many barriers that prevent and limit the efforts of communities addressing drug misuse and substance use disorder, but one particular challenge that many communities face is the ability to elevate their initiative above other local competing priorities.  Identifying champions who can publicly support the coalition’s mission can help to build and foster strategic partnerships, generate buy-in, and increase commitment to bolster supports. With a solid understanding of the current programmatic needs in your area, you can build power and mobilize the community by successfully bringing together advocates, policymakers, and professionals to take collective action.

Whether you are developing legislative or regulatory efforts, building and strengthening programs, or attempting to reach a diverse audience with a wide range of needs, communities of all sizes should consider the following principles when activating your community around this crisis:

Put equity at the center for your efforts

Engage individuals with lived experience or those directly impacted by substance use disorder in decision-making roles

Create alliances and form strategic partnerships that build political will and support from a broad range of stakeholders

Build relationships with federal, state, and locally elected leaders

Understand your community’s most powerful levers for change 

Allow data to drive your strategy development and decision-making

Focus on measurable individual and community-based outcomes

Empower citizens by increasing public awareness and community engagement opportunities

Strengthen your system or infrastructure in order to achieve impact at scale

It’s important to note that any community organizing or political will building strategy should be implemented with regularity - it should not be a single event or effort.  For the greatest impact, communities should show the link or intersection of substance use disorder with other competing community priorities, consistently focus on drumming up new interest, and relay progress made over time back to community stakeholders using a message of hope in order to

 

 

 

Engaging Local Leaders

Drug Misuse and SUD has consequesces for all residents of local communities.  The current epidemic increases costs related to public health, public safety, criminal justice, treatment services, and many more.  Locally elected leaders should be motivated just by the economic impacts to improve local response.  A far greater price comes from the fatalities caused by the epidemic and related overdoses and the loved ones who must face the pain of those lost.  This is what motivates many others to create and join efforts to combat the epidemic within their communities.  These leaders work in prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery support services, and other efforts to save lives and help those in need find recovery.

 

Elected and Local Health Leaders

Locally elected leaders and health officials can play an important role in leading efforts to improve the response to the SUD epidemic.  Mayors, County Executives, Commissioners, and the local health leaders they appoint can be powerful allies in raising public awareness about the extent of the problem, available resources available to local residents, and specific strategies like harm reduction that can help save lives.

In many instances elected officials and local health officials are part of some type of community task force or other group charged with coordinating and improving local response to the epidemic.  However in the absence of such an effort elected and health leaders can and should be engaged in raising awareness about the issue and solutions while also increasing support within the community.  Elected leaders and especially legislators also play an important role in the creation of budgets and ultimately decide on how local revenues are allocated to different programs, and it is critical they are aware of the scope of these issues in their communities.

 

Community Stakeholders and Infuencers

Drug Misuse and Substance Use Disorder affects a substantial number of residents in all communities.  A wide variety of stakeholders within each community has an important role to play in advancing polices, programs and systems that can work together and improve local response.  Consider engaging additional community partners to leverage exisiting efforts and boost support within the community.  Some examples include:

- Health Professionals     - Hospitals    - Community Health Centers    - Faith Leaders     - Law Enforcement     - Public and Private Schools     - Colleges and Universities

- Parents Groups     - Treatment Community     - Recovery Community   - Local business and corporations    - Philanthropic Community

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overcoming Stigma

Anti--Stigma Campaigns:

State of Massachusetts - Sate Without StigMA.  The State of Massachusetts has developed a comprehensive anti-stigma campaign at the State level.  This resource provides information about what stigma is, how it contributes to the current epidemic, and personal stories of people who talk about their own experiences with stigma and how they overcame it to find help for themselves and others in a variety of settings.

 

Solutions and Tools focused on this objective.