At the Feb. 24 Whitehall-Coplay Communities That Care meeting, the coalition members took a big step forward to address its most recent priority, as part of the coalition checkup project.

The coalition checkup project provided a feedback report for CTC members to identify potential focus areas to help the coalition grow. During the past couple of years, coalition members worked on increased communication and awareness in the community.

At the Jan. 20 meeting, the group decided to reintroduce committee meetings to help focus their efforts and increase efficiency.

Melissa Fausey, with Penn State EPISCenter, assisted the coalition with its action planning.

It was generally agreed to hold the committee meetings during the regular monthly CTC meetings. It had been noted scheduling concerns had been a problem in the past.

A number of action items were identified to help get the committee meeting process started, as well as to maintain progress. It was mentioned setting an agenda or having a specific focus for each committee meeting will help keep the group focused.

Additionally, it was suggested having a chair and note taker for each committee to maintain progress and open communication. The need for specified communication channels within the committee and from the committee back out to the larger coalition was also mentioned.

Michelle Khouri, district registrar and community outreach, suggested identifying time frames for specific items to keep the progress moving forward.

“I think it’s important to have a definitive goal and definitive results,” Khouri said. “We throw around a lot of great ideas, but it often stops there.”

Fausey agreed setting target dates will help the group move past the “talking about it” stage.

It was agreed the committees should be setting short-term goals, long-term goals and a dream goal.

To help kick-start the process, a number of these items were chosen to be addressed immediately, with one planned ahead for the March meeting.

The committees are formulated around the coalition’s main focus areas. These include substance use prevention education, mental health and wellness, increasing commitment to school and parent education. It was noted the parent education piece could fit across all the other areas.

The CTC members then split up into the three committees, choosing whichever one they felt most inclined toward. While in these groups, the committee members took time to share introductions, choose a chair and name a note taker.

It was also discussed when, during the regular CTC meetings, they would like to meet. All committees agreed they wanted the meetings to be held toward the beginning of the meetings, after the introductions and general announcements.

The committees also set their communication plans for both within the committees and with the coalition at large, including reporting out during the meeting and sharing the notes afterward.

At the March meeting, committees will focus on setting goals and plans for the month.

The next CTC meeting is set for 9 a.m. March 24. The meeting will be held virtually.