Coalition proves cooperation is fastest way to get results

Editor’s Note: Student Union is written by students at Hampden Academy, Brewer High School, Old Town High School and Schenck High School in East Millinocket. The weekly column is a joint effort among the schools, the Bangor Daily News and Acadia Hospital. This week’s column was written by Old Town High School students. Their adviser is Karen Marley.

Alcoholism, drug abuse, a lack of resources for the poor and early childhood development training for young single mothers are all issues that these days plague even the most pleasant small towns. Federal and state governments have tried their best to solve these problems using one-size-fits-all solutions. This approach may work in one community and fail miserably in another. Recognizing that finding a suitable solution to any of these problems is difficult, small groups of concerned residents in many communities often decide to form local organizations to work at handling these issues.

Over time, members of these groups began to realize their goals could not be accomplished if each group worked independently. In the mid-1980s, many local organizations saw that one group couldn’t handle a large-scale problem such as drug abuse without a comprehensive partnership among area communities. Combining resources of area communities is beneficial to all. Local community advocacy groups in the Old Town area saw a need for a cohesive infrastructure in order to tackle important community issues. The result of the idea to employ all of the area communities’ resources was The River Coalition, a grass-roots solution to problems that seriously affect small communities, operating in the towns of Old Town, Bradley, Milford, Greenbush, Alton and Indian Island.

At the time of the coalition’s beginning, the federal government was willing to make funds available to community organizations that used large-scale infrastructure in order to serve their communities. The government wanted to see early and strong results, and The River Coalition was the sort of success they wanted to see. Since its founding, The River Coalition has enjoyed continued growth and expansion in services to all the communities it represents.

The coalition works extensively with local schools to help build stronger school communities and help confront the major issues of alcohol, drug abuse and violence, which face many children today. The River Coalition works closely with the local library, YMCA, fire and police departments, and all the coalition’s school districts in order to perform the task of community service in the most effective manner. At present, more than $250,000 is coming in annually to the six communities that The River Coalition serves. Of this amount, $25,000 to $30,000 goes to schools for after-school programs designed to keep kids off the streets and away from negative, unsupervised activities.

The coalition’s student-based group ACES, or Awareness, Change, Education, Solutions, has been extended into the middle school with great success. ACES was designed to confront the issues of alcohol abuse and drinking among teens. The group has worked extensively with local businesses and law enforcement officials to educate people on the issue of teen substance abuse.

When we talked with Shawn Yardley, The River Coalition’s program director, who previously spent 17 years with the Department of Human Services, we were able to get a real feel for the sprit that drives the coalition. Yardley couldn’t keep a smile off his face while he talked about all the new ideas and programs the coalition is planning.

Yardley told us that “in The River Coalition, everything we do not only has an impact on those individuals involved, but on the quality of life for all the community.” On April 3-4, The River Coalition sponsored one of the largest and most ambitious programs undertaken so far in their fight to solve community problems. “Challenge Day,” a mentoring program designed to counteract the problems of bullying, teasing and oppression seen in society and schools, took place at the Old Town-Orono YMCA.

The program was conceived in California and has been immensely successful throughout the nation. The sophomore and junior classes of Old Town High School participated in the program with juniors serving as mentors for sophomores. The juniors participated in a day of training before Challenge Day in order to help them serve as capable mentors. Challenge Day was a very emotional experience for all the people involved. Junior mentor Samantha J. Shorette said, “Challenge Day allowed students to see past superficial differences and realize how much they can all relate to each other.”

The day included a wide array of activities designed to encourage teens to share their feelings and build stronger relationships with their peers.

Another plan of The River Coalition is to have family resource videos aired on Old Town’s local cable access channel. These videos would help educate young parents and parents of teens on issues and problems they face daily, but for which they might not ordinarily seek help. Yet another program is designed to assist young parents during the early education of their children and to provide learning resources, support and help. The coalition would assist young parents from the day their child registers for kindergarten.

The River Coalition has set the standard for all community action groups. They have worked hard to try to influence social policy to fit present family and community structures in order to improve the lives of those people within their boundaries. Yardley told us the Coalition “tries to find ways to develop programs that have a natural base of support.” This natural base of support hinges on the hope that people will see the inherent value in what the coalition is doing. With continued success and support from the river communities, The River Coalition is truly ready to meet the challenges of the 21st century.