CADCA Mid-Year Recap: A YTC Perspective (pt. 1)

(L to R) Ziana (YTC Chairperson), Trinity (CADCA Trainer)

The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Mid-Year Training Institute took place in Nashville, Tennessee, from July 21-24, 2025. This event brought together community leaders for hands-on workshops on topics like strategic planning and coalition building, as well as specialized training for youth leaders.

Members of the TCDC's HEAAL Coalition and their youth counterpart, Youth Taking Charge (YTC), attended the conference. YTC Chairperson Ziana will be giving a recap of her experience at the event, sharing what she learned and how it will impact the coalition's work.

Introducing Ziana, YTC Chairperson Who Will Share Her CADCA Recap - I was recently given the opportunity to go to this year's CADCA Mid-Year institute, and it was one of the highlights of my year so far. I went into this knowing that I’d come back with valuable information, but I also came back with so much more.

Ms. Tashema and Mr. Loren were great chaperones; I couldn’t ask for anyone better than them. They accommodated us and mostly let us have the freedom that we needed to have a good experience at CADCA. They gave us the freedom to enjoy ourselves while making sure that we were safe and balanced between learning and building connections. Traveling was easy, and although the trip was tiring, I enjoyed the journey.

The hotel was amazing, with beautiful scenery, a range of food options, and a staff who made sure we were comfortable. At CADCA, I made more friends in four days than I expected. It was so refreshing to be around people who shared similar ideas and were advocating to make a change in their community. The social activities that were provided to us were so fun and well-organized, and the training sessions were very interactive, easy to follow, and full of knowledge. I always left feeling motivated to do more.

My favorite session was “The Chicken or The Egg,” which traversed the relationship between homelessness and substance misuse. Homelessness is a major issue in my community, so this session deeply resonated with me and inspired me to think strongly about solutions to this problem. Overall, the trip was everything I hoped it would be. It exceeded my expectations, gave me friendships and knowledge that I’ll bring forward, and left me very eager to attend again.

CADCA is just one of the activities our YTC youth participate in. If you know any youth aged 12-17 who might be interested in joining YTC, please contact program manager Loren Grizzard at lorengrizzard@tcdccorp.org