By Shandi Hill, Area Director
In the month of March, our WestCare Tennessee team had a few busy days of community outreach starting with the College and Career Fair Day at the Cocke County High School on March 3, where we were able to share information pertaining to prevention education and job readiness training. During the first part of the fair, Madison provided evidence-based material from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Mind Matters Series and Drug Facts. Madison was able to speak with 8th graders from schools within the county to equip them with the resources needed to help maintain a drug-free life while taking the next step in their lives – high school. Lisa provided job readiness materials during the latter part of the day. She engaged with the students by discussing what classes they need in school, the classes she teaches, and asking if they had any interest in those. The students asked Lisa if she would come to their school to teach them basic interviewing skills and how to set up a budget. The students felt these two things are vital for them to be successful. Lisa received an overwhelming positive response. The high schoolers were engaged with the information provided by Lisa and loved the job readiness resources she provided. Together, Madison and Lisa were able to reach a total of 226 students!
Then, during the National Drugs and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW) from March 21 – 25, our team stayed dedicated to conducting virtual outreach. Madison, Lisa, Ross, and Shandi created unique messages from the NIDA handouts, “Shatter the Myths” and “My Why,” regarding drugs, alcohol, and other related health topics. A local radio station, WLIK 97.9 FM, assisted our team on how to get the word out by pre-recording our daily NDAFW messages in a radio booth. The radio station aired the daily messages for the entire week reaching out to as far as Western North Carolina and East Tennesse. Thank you, WLIK, for giving us the opportunity to expand our youth outreach!
