Yuma County Anti-Drug Coalition Highlights Prevention Programs, Community Outreach Efforts

Joanne Fizer stood before the Yuma County Board of Supervisors on Monday and laid out the scope of what the Yuma County Anti-Drug Coalition has built: a network of prevention programs and community outreach efforts aimed at keeping substance use from taking hold in the first place.

Fizer, who serves as executive director of YCADC, walked supervisors through the coalition's prevention work and the scale of its community reach. Among the items she highlighted was Grad Night, an upcoming event the coalition is organizing as part of its youth-focused programming.

The presentation came one day before the coalition's work will compete for attention alongside the broader public health pressures Yuma County faces. Drug prevention coalitions like YCADC operate on the front end of a cycle that, left unaddressed, typically drives demand for treatment, law enforcement resources, and emergency services downstream.

YCADC's model centers on reducing substance use before it starts, a strategy public health researchers consistently identify as more cost-effective than intervention after dependency develops. By bringing that case directly to the Board of Supervisors, Fizer positioned the coalition's programs as a community infrastructure issue, not just a social services matter.

The full details of the Grad Night event, including date and location, were part of Fizer's presentation to the board.