Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America Helps Communities Reduce Drug Abuse
For two decades, Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America(CADCA) has been on the front lines addressing and prevention underage and excessive alcohol use, tobacco, illicit drugs and the misuse and abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medicines. CADCA represents the interest of more than 5,000 coalition leaders nationwide by ensuring their voices are heard on Capitol Hill and that vital substance abuse prevention treatment and research policies and funding remain top priorities in Congress. CADCA recognizes that drug use and abuse is a multi-dimensional problem that demands comprehensive, coordinated solutions. CADCA's approach engages parents, youth, educators. law enforcement and justice officials, civic leaders workplaces, the faith community, health professional and other key sectors to leverage resources and coordinate strategies that impact the entire community. CADCA's scientifically verified community problem solving process trains coalitions to develop and enforce laws and polices, create safer neighborhood and commercial environments and change community norms--thereby making the drug free choice the easy choice. East Cleveland Bridges of HOPE Coalition is one of a few federally funded Urban Drug Free Community Coalitions in Ohio. ECBOH coalition DFC grant funds are used for environmental prevention strategies incorporate efforts aimed at changing or influencing community conditions, standards, institutions, structures, systems and policies to shirt attitudes and change behavior. Anita Bradley is the founder and Executive Director of the Northern Ohio Recovery Association. Its acronym is NORA. Anita is a graduate of Kent State and Cleveland State Universities. She earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice studies and a master’s degree from Cleveland State, respectively. Bradley founded the Northern Ohio Recovery Association in 2004 to prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs utilizing a holistic healing and recovery approach. Her vision is to establish innovative care to support continued recovery in communities throughout Northeast Ohio. In December of 2014 the organization celebrated its ten year anniversary. Bradley has been in recovery for over 24 years and understands the importance and magnitude of blending personal and professional knowledge to promote the power and possibility of recovery. In 2014 she extended the expertise on substance abuse to the administration of President Barack Obama. Throughout an impressive career, more than two decades, Anita has served as a clinician and administrator; she specializes in community organizing, program planning and program development. The no non-sense but compassionate executive has extensive experience in planning, implementing and evaluating new and evolving substance abuse treatment programs, and has provided technical assistance to a multitude of other agencies. She has also monitored treatment agencies for program compliance, quality improvement, in addition to providing guidance and technical assistance to agencies to ensure success of ongoing programs. She has conducted numerous training sessions on substance abuse treatment for her peers. Before founding NORA in 2004 Bradley was the Executive Director of Compass House, Inc. located in Loran, Ohio. There she lent her skills, talent and management style to the county’s largest residential treatment center. With oversight of a 1.5 million dollar budget her responsibilities included oversight of a 30 member staff, more than 100 volunteers and of budget of 1.5 million dollars. During her tenure she was successful in garnering funding and cultivating relationships within in the service system; writing and administering grants; enforcing service standards and policies in addition to monitoring agency performance of the Board of Trustee and agency funding partners. Bradley is the recipient of local leadership and volunteer service awards, in the substance abuse and recovery profession. She was the inspirational catalyst who organized a public recovery month event, called the Ohio Recovery Ride. This event catapulted the planning of other yearly initiatives and recovery activities, in a tri-county region. Indeed Anita is a powerful force in Northeast Oho. She continues to promote and ensure a continuum of recovery by sustaining a peer recovery model that is both paramount and essential to on-going sobriety. Bradley is the recipient of local leadership and volunteer service awards in the substance abuse profession. She was the inspirational catalyst who organized a public Recovery Month event called the Recovery Motorcycle Ride, which has stimulated the planning of other yearly recovery and substance abuse prevention events. In addition to her many professional accolades, Anita remains loyal to her roots, initiating several AA groups, in Northeast Ohio, which still continue.
