This post is contributed by FTCTC board member Adam Kohlstrom, Pastor of Chestnut Street Baptist Church, Camden.
Remembering that our faith communities are part of the larger community, The Partnership at Drugfree.org has a great article titled Clergy Matter. The author makes this point:
The “good news” is that there is a powerful awakening in our faith communities and among a steadily growing army of enlightened clergy and faith leaders about their legitimate role in the prevention of substance use problems and in supporting the healing process for both addicted persons and their impacted family members.
While the faith community seems increasingly comfortable with and competent in its support for those healing from substance abuse, how are we doing at prevention? Prevention seems a far more elusive and insubstantial goal. It is easier to grasp how we treat substance use problems than how it is we might prevent those same problems in the first place.
This is where Five Town Communities That Care comes in. The Communities That Care model is all about prevention. The time and money that I and our church family donate to FTCTC goes towards the mission of promoting: "healthy youth development and [preventing] problem adolescent behaviors such as substance abuse, suicide, violence, delinquency, school drop-out, and teen pregnancy." It is about prevention on a scale that we could never hope to accomplish on our own.
We must realize that the elusive goal of "prevention" is not something that can be accomplished by just one segment of the community. Prevention is not just a "school" thing or a "law-enforcement" thing or a "social-services" thing or a "mental-health" thing or a "faith" thing. Prevention and "five towns where all people work together to create a safe and healthy environment for all" is a community thing.
Our church stands proudly as part of this community and as part of the work of prevention being done by Five Town Communities That Care. Whatever segment of the larger community you represent, won't you join us?
This is where Five Town Communities That Care comes in. The Communities That Care model is all about prevention. The time and money that I and our church family donate to FTCTC goes towards the mission of promoting: "healthy youth development and [preventing] problem adolescent behaviors such as substance abuse, suicide, violence, delinquency, school drop-out, and teen pregnancy." It is about prevention on a scale that we could never hope to accomplish on our own.
We must realize that the elusive goal of "prevention" is not something that can be accomplished by just one segment of the community. Prevention is not just a "school" thing or a "law-enforcement" thing or a "social-services" thing or a "mental-health" thing or a "faith" thing. Prevention and "five towns where all people work together to create a safe and healthy environment for all" is a community thing.
Our church stands proudly as part of this community and as part of the work of prevention being done by Five Town Communities That Care. Whatever segment of the larger community you represent, won't you join us?
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