No one changes a county alone.
Advocacy & Collaboration is how the coalition multiplies its impact — keeping prevention, recovery, and mental wellness on the county’s agenda, and bringing every sector to the same table so the work adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
What this work looks like
- Keeping prevention on the local agenda
- Bringing sectors together around shared goals
- Public awareness & community campaigns
- Representing local needs to decision-makers
- Turning many voices into one clear message
Every sector
Schools, health, law enforcement, families, and moreOne agenda
Aligned around the shared Community Action PlanSince 1989
A convening table Starke County already trusts
The multiplier behind everything else we do.
One voice carries further
A coalition speaking together has far more weight with decision-makers than any single organization advocating alone.
Partners fill each other's gaps
Schools, health, law enforcement, and families each hold a piece. Collaboration is how those pieces finally fit together.
Keeps prevention from fading
Priorities compete for attention and funding. Steady advocacy keeps substance use and mental health on the county’s radar.
Everyone has a role in this.
Your voice is the whole point.
Ways to help
Share the message
Amplify campaigns and accurate information within your own circles.Show up at events
Attend awareness events, meetings, and community forums.Tell your story
Lived experience, shared willingly, moves hearts and policy alike.Become a member
Join the coalition — it's free — and add your weight to the collective voice.
Stronger together than apart.
Ways to collaborate
Join the coalition table
Bring your organization's perspective to shared planning and priorities.Co-host campaigns & events
Pool reach and resources on awareness efforts across the county.Align around the Action Plan
Connect your work to the county's shared prevention priorities.Access shared resources
Tap coalition data, materials, and grant opportunities together.
Prevention needs champions in the room.
How we support leaders
Local data & insight
County-specific evidence to inform policy and funding decisions.A pulse on community needs
What residents are actually facing, straight from surveys and focus groups.A convening partner
A neutral table where sectors can solve problems together.A unified prevention voice
Community backing for policies that protect Starke County residents.
Advocacy in practice.
Advocacy and collaboration show up in many forms across the year — from a single social post to a room full of partners aligning on the county’s next priority.
- Public awareness campaigns
- Community events
- Cross-sector partnerships
- Coalition building
- Local data sharing
- Policy education
- Representing community needs
- Stigma reduction
- Media & messaging
- Prevention Action Alliance ties
- Statewide network links
- Shared grant efforts
Adding your voice is easy to start.
Reach out
Call 219- 742-2285 or email us and tell us how you'd like to help — as a resident, organization, or leader.
Find your fit
We'll point you to the right committee, campaign, or partnership for your interests and capacity.
Make an impact
Add your voice to a coalition that's been strengthening Starke County since 1989.
Good to know.
Is this political advocacy?
Not in a partisan sense. The coalition’s advocacy is about keeping prevention, recovery, and mental wellness on the community’s agenda and informing decisions with local data — not campaigning for candidates or parties. We focus on education and awareness, not electoral politics.
Do I need any special background to help?
Not at all. Community members help simply by sharing accurate information, showing up, and lending their voice. Organizations and leaders bring their own expertise. There’s a meaningful role at almost any level of time and experience.
How does collaboration actually happen?
Much of it runs through the coalition’s monthly meetings and committees, where partners align on shared priorities, plan campaigns, and coordinate efforts. Joining a committee is one of the most direct ways to collaborate.
Can my organization partner without becoming a formal member?
Yes. There are many ways to collaborate on specific campaigns or events. That said, membership is free and gives your organization a fuller seat at the table — so many partners choose to join.
How does this connect to the coalition's other work?
Advocacy and collaboration are the connective tissue. They keep prevention education, recovery support, and training visible, funded, and coordinated — all aligned around the county’s Community Action Plan.