The nonprofit community coalition Community Action for Capable Youth (CACY) celebrated its 35th anniversary on Thursday at North Central State’s Urban Center in downtown Mansfield. Its many years of service can be attributed in part to one phone call made by a concerned parent in 1978.
“It began with a phone call, a call that began with ‘we need to do something,’” said Tracee Anderson, Executive Director for CACY. “It wasn’t ‘we need to talk about something,’ it wasn’t ‘we need to think about something,’ it was we need to do something. I would like to think I’m staying as true as I possibly can to the mission that developed this organization, and I feel responsibility to do so.”
That initial phone call inspired a group of parents to educate the adult community of Richland County about the effects of alcohol and drugs on the county’s youth.
Now, CACY is one of the oldest surviving countywide grassroots prevention coalitions recognized by the state of Ohio and the federal government. The organization continues to implement prevention programs and education activities for violence, tobacco, and alcohol and drug abuse.
“The proof that you’re here this evening is that you continue to support CACY after 35 years for its mission to put prevention education out there for Richland County youth,” said Tammy Wurthmann on behalf of the CACY board as she addressed the crowd of county officials and guests.
“It’s so important. It has not decreased in importance at all which is reflective of Judge (James) Henson’s drug court and Judge (James) DeWeese’s programs for DUI’s. It just continues to be an ongoing problem,” added Wurthmann.
Anderson compared the mission statement of CACY’s inception in 1978 to some of the organization’s goals in the present day. She stated the “C” in “CACY” stood for “capable, healthy and drug-free within the community,” and the “A” stood for accurate information, both primary focuses of CACY today.
“Another ‘C’ stood for community catalyst, and one of the things I noticed in the beginning stages of CACY was not everybody loved the idea of youth toning down their partying,” said Anderson. “There was a lot of backlash to the parents in the homes of the leaders of that organization, so I appreciate that sacrifice and being the voice when some people didn’t want to hear it, and didn’t want to believe there was difficulties that needed to be addressed.”
The “Y,” Anderson continued, represented youth and community resources in the county.
“Obviously Richland County has a lot, and we have been lucky enough as a CACY organization to partner with individuals to make our voice and our efforts that much stronger,” she said. “It really was those partnerships and those efforts that make why we can celebrate 35 years today.”
Looking to the future, Anderson emphasized that CACY needs to continue to be a leader in prevention, expand relevant prevention messages, secure more funding for the program, and solicit more input for community programming. Anderson noted that the past 35 years has taught her the community needs to work together to prevent a healthy and drug-free lifestyle.
According to studies, communities that conduct aggressive prevention campaigns have historically had the lowest use rates of substances by youth. In addition, collaborative prevention efforts have resulted in educating more than 150,000 Richland County children and families since 1978.
Anderson ended the night with a quote from Albert Einstein saying, “Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.”
“We could write about it, we can talk about it, but to go back to the beginning we need to do,” she said. “The parents who started it and kept it going were geniuses, because I think they knew they were onto something. They knew it could be dealt with. They did prevent them, we have continued, and I can only hope I am half the steward they were.”
“The parents who started it and kept it going were geniuses, because I think they knew they were onto something. They knew it could be dealt with. They did prevent them, we have continued, and I can only hope I am half the steward they were,” said CACY Executive Director Tracee Anderson.
