Orleans United will be presenters at national conference
ALBION – The Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition has been selected to be a presenter at the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America 29th National Leadership Forum.
That conference, from Feb. 4 to Feb. 7, is at National Harbor, MD. The forum brings together nearly 3,000 local, state and national experts in the drug prevention and treatment fields.
Pat Crowley, project director for Orleans United Drug Free Communities Coalition, and Dr. Dan Webb, program evaluator, were selected to be presenters on behalf of Orleans United., Sarah Stendts, Coalition program assistant, and Wayne Litchfield, Visual Data Committee chairman, will also be attending.
The training session – “A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words! Using Infographics in Coalition Work” – is one of more than 70 in-depth training sessions offered at the CADCA Forum.
Crowley noted that coalitions must use as many ways as possible to disseminate their data. The organizations also need to be creative in disseminating data to different target audiences. In the Orleans United session, the group will demonstrate how Orleans United has used infographics to educate and inform the community in situations where traditional data tables and graphs are inappropriate and/or potentially ineffective.
“We will talk about the basics of infographics, discuss types of infographics and situations in which to use them, and show attendees how to create their own infographic using a popular online service,” Crowley said.
Litchfield designed many of the posters that present data about teen drug, alcohol and tobacco use in Orleans County. The posters were created using infographic software, Venngage. The posters have been presented at school districts, coalition meetings, community events and on billboards in the county.
The posters highlight the following data:
• In 2017, 82 percent of Orleans County youth did not use alcohol;
• In 2017, 90 percent of Orleans County youth did not use marijuana;
• In 2017, 95 percent of Orleans County youth did not smoke cigarettes;
• In 2017, 98 percent of Orleans County youth did not use prescription drugs (that weren’t prescribed to them);
• Orleans County’s five most important health concerns, according to an adult survey: 65 percent say illicit drug abuse; 40 percent say prescription drug abuse; 40 percent say mental health issues; 33 percent say child abuse/neglect; and 24 percent say alcohol abuse.