Valley Community Coalition

The Valley Community Coalition's Mission is to reduce substance use among youth in the Valley Community School District.

Description:
Our agency carries out our mission with the help of 4 subgroups: Youth, Parent, Community, and Mentoring. We support a youth group called SODA (Students OK Without Drugs or Alcohol), provide ongoing parenting classes and information regarding substance abuse prevention, work to educate our community, work to create policy change to better support our youth to maintain a substance free lifestyle, as well as support a community based mentoring program.

History:
The Valley Community Coalition began in the summer of 2000. Students came to adults asking for help on how to deal with peer pressure to drink alcohol and experiment with drugs. One of the teenage girls had problems dealing with the substance abuse of a boyfriend. The boyfriend drank heavily and was starting to experiment with "harder" substances.

At this point adults started asking questions of each other and began to look for more information in the community. They discovered that the levels of drug and alcohol use were much higher than anyone had thought, and that the youth of the community were feeling pressure to experiment. Youth also reported pressure to link substance use with sexual relations.

While information has been available in the community to warn about experimentation, much of the peer pressure is linked with false information which gives substance use a glamorous appeal.

The parents invited others to join them and the Valley Community Coalition was formed in the early fall of 2000. People responded and though still in its infancy, the coalition has grown to a solid membership of 120 active community members.

In the first weeks of organization, the depth of denial in the community became apparent. Angry phone calls and threats were received and have strengthened the conviction and determination of core members. Many in the community use the excuse that youth have always drank, and feel that it is a part of growing up.

Parents began to link their efforts with local law enforcement and substance abuse professionals. Participants began to feel that their actions could make a difference and law enforcement and other professionals felt the broader support in the community. The coalition became the hub that facilitated referrals for help, and encouraged and supported the interventions of the Sheriff's Department.

From a meeting of a few people around a dining room table to a successfully functioning group that has had, is having, and will have great success, this is a wonderful story. The early meetings of just a few concerned adults turned into a meeting with over 100 adults and youth. The youth and adults who attended now know that there is support available locally for them. The Valley Community Coalition has been described as "the fastest growing community coalition in Iowa" and "a model coalition." And now the work continues--attending events and meetings on a regular basis.

Contact people:

Jenny Stolka, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) Cassie Peterson, Employee, (phone), (email)

Main office number: (563) 426-5599
Office fax number: (563) 426-5594

Address:

240 Center St. P.O. Box 234 Clermont, IA 52141 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.vccsoda.org

Last updated on June 24, 2009