CARES sends 5 to prevention conference

Thanks to the Dubois County Coalition for Adolescent Resilience and Empowerment Strategies, two county youth and three adults attended the annual Mid- Year Training Institute hosted July 14 to 18 by CADCA. 

CADCA, CARES’ national umbrella organization, stands for Community-based, Advocacy-focused, Data-driven, Coalition-building Association. The conference drew about 2,500 participants from throughout the United States and internationally. 

The students making the trip to Chicago were Katherine Dubon, daughter of Oscar and Dolores Dubon of Huntingburg, and Lizzi Kerkhoff, daughter of Jeff and Tarry Kerkhoff of rural Ferdinand. 

The adults attending were county juvenile probation officer Melissa Neihaus and Dubois County CARES staff members Candy Neal and Martha Rasche. 

While adolescents mapped their communities and learned about the key essentials of prevention work, the adults could choose from a smorgasbord of sessions about the latest developments in substance misuse prevention, new trends and data, and professional development sessions for leaders.