Arbor Circle and the Ottawa Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition
Community Stakeholders
Recent articles introduced two local non-profits, Lakeshore Non-profit Alliance and Community Spoke, and described their intertwined funding, personnel, and missions. This article will provide a few examples of the work that has been completed as a result of their efforts.
The Ottawa Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition (OSAP) is a collaboration formed with assistance from Community Spoke that has the following mission: “The OSAP mission statement is to work together to prevent substance use disorders among youth, families, and community members in Ottawa County. Arbor Circle coordinates the OSAP coalition, which has a number of initiatives, subcommittees, and task forces.”
According to the 2022 Arbor Circle Impact Report, “In the last year, the need for mental health, substance use, and family services has continued to grow. Those we serve often face a web of barriers. Disparities impact every corner of their lives, which are intensified by institutional and systemic oppression.”
On the Arbor Circle website there is a 37-page Recommendations to the Community to Address LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Report. In the report, different stakeholders are listed in each recommendation section. One sample section is listed below. Notice that all of the stakeholders are government organizations, non-profits, and businesses that stand to benefit financially from an LGBTQ Homeless population.
Some recommendations in the report include:
Schools should implement a climate survey. The results should be used to allocate resources, and create priorities to address LGBTQ+ youth homelessness.
Creating an “Awareness Campaign”
Creating an “Affirming Faith Coalition” and increase the number of entities participating
Develop LGBTQ+ 101 Training
Do you think these recommended efforts would increase, decrease, or have no effect on an LGBTQ+ Youth Homeless population?
The Arbor Circle website also contains an anti-racism resource guide.
In addition to these guides, the Ottawa Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition has created approximately 50 videos for middle school students, high school students, and adults on the topic of building mental health skills. Look who shows up on the Ottawa Substance Abuse Prevention videos for mental health.
It’s Barbara Lee VanHorssen, the self-proclaimed Sex-Minister from the Momentum Center.
How much do you think it cost to produce these videos? Who do you think received the money? The videos have very low viewership, so do you think they are providing benefit to the community?
OSAP also offers training sessions that incorporate I Love You rituals from Conscious Discipline. Curiously enough, similar Social Emotional Learning videos are being used by school systems as part of the Ottawa Community Schools Network that supports implementing collectivist principles in Ottawa County schools and instilling collectivist principles in our children.