The July 15 meeting of the Blanco Coalition of Awareness, Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse was called to order at 11:30 a.m. by project coordinator Amber Corder, and was held via Zoom.

Corder provided a brief update on the Hidden in Plain Sight event. Creating a virtual room to explore was discussed and training for teachers will take place soon.

Next, the coalition members watched part of a webinar that focused on how to implement strategies virtually. These strategies include information dissemination, education, environmental and alternative activities. Members began brainstorming on ideas that CoAPT could implement, including community service projects, drive-in movies and bingo events.

Next, a discussion regarding new ideas included a monthly newsletter, an information table at high school football games and other sporting events, and “Shattered Dreams” program. Shattered Dreams “is a two-day, school-based program that promotes responsible decision-making among high school students regarding underage drinking and impaired driving (driving after drinking or riding with a drinking driver) by showing them how irresponsible choices can end all dreams,” according to the Shattered Dreams Program Guide. The high school has previously held it in the past, but was unable to in 2020 due to COVID-19.

The Wellness Fair was also briefly discussed and members voted to wait until the event can be held as normal. Lastly, Corder went over a few announcements. She explained that a new bill was introduced to suspend match funding requirements throughout the pandemic. She also asked for volunteers to complete a CCT form for evaluation that is due Aug. 14. The last announcement was to see if anyone could help update the coalition’s website page and a member volunteered to help out.

The meeting concluded at 12:18 p.m. and the next meeting will take place Aug. 19 at 11:30 a.m. via Zoom.