Bill Gentes, the Project Coordinator for the Lake County Underage Drinking and Drug Prevention Task Force in Lake County, Ill., had a unique challenge. The coalition’s nine permanent drop boxes were at capacity. So, using strategies learned at CADCA’s National Coalition Academy, the coalition leveraged their resources, advocated for a state law, and, as a result, increased collection capacity and lowered their opioid overdose rates.
But the “adventure in advocacy,” as Gentes puts it, wasn’t without its challenges.