The Council On Chemical Abuse (COCA) is the single County Authority (SCA) for Berks County and in that capacity, is responsible for the planning, implementing, and evaluating Berks County's drug and alcohol services supported by public funding.
The purpose of this podcast is to offer a general understanding of drug and alcohol services provided by or through the Council On Chemical Abuse (all such services are evidenced based or best practice)
According to the National Center on Substance Abuse, over 10 million high school students have used addictive substances including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine; 1 in 5 meet the medical criteria for addiction. Accessing treatment for addiction is an inclusive process which includes an assessment to determine appropriate level of care. Treatment Access Services Center (TASC) is the licensed central unit intake provider that provides assessments to help youth get the professional help that they need to address their substance use disorder.
Lead Clinical Evaluator, Melani Calabria says that TASC provides public funding for youth to enter into treatment who do not have their own private insurance. Melanie state’s young people who are referred to TASC for a drug and alcohol assessment usually do not feel they have a problem. Melanie takes time to formulate a bond with the youth so they feel comfortable sharing their alcohol and drug history. Melanie says in-patient treatment care is more readily available for youth than it is for adults and she works collaboratively with parents, schools, and youth serving programs and agencies to ensure youth have received the appropriate services they need. Melanie says appointments to schedule assessments are available Monday –Friday between 8:30am and 4:00pm.
Accessing Services for Youth | Meet Melani Calabria According to the National Center on Substance Abuse, over 10 million high school students have used addictive substances including tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or cocaine; 1 in 5 meet the medical criteria for addiction. Accessing treatment for addiction is an inclusive process which includes an assessment to determine
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Kutztown Strong | Meet Guidance Counselor, Andrew Brett A rapid response to situations impacting our communities can often result in a long lasting effect on the community. In 2014, Guidance Counselor, Andrew Brett and dozens of residents in the Kutztown Borough formed Kutztown Strong formed to address the problems in the community which were contributing to the use opioids among youth.
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Drug Treatment Court: An Alternative to Incarceration For the past 18 years, Jorge Acevedo has worked at Pennsylvania Counseling Services as a Drug and Alcohol Counselor. Jorge provides therapeutic counseling, support, and referrals to individuals seeking a pathway to a better way of living. Jorge also represents Pennsylvania Counseling Services as a treatment provider
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Common Ground Recovery Community The faith based community – more specifically – churches, have a long standing history of providing space to community based groups in an effort to allow individuals representative of different backgrounds, groups, and interests to meet, fellowship and help one another. So, when Common Ground Ministries got started in 2009 within the structure and
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Understanding to Compassion Since becoming a Board Member for the Council on Chemical Abuse, Michael Kaucher says his eyes have been opened to the reality of addiction and the hope of recovery. “You see it everywhere,” he says in response to the a question regarding the occurrence of addiction. As Executive Director of the Berks Conference of Churches, Kaucher sees how the church body
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Emergency Medical Services: Saving Lives The Topton American Legion Community Ambulance Services provide Basic and Advanced Life Support to the community involving eleven different municipalities. Their goal is to provide the best quality care to the people they serve. In 2015, Topton Ambulance responded to over 1200 calls. Tyler Bard, Chief of Emergency Medical Services for the
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YMCA – A Place to learn and Grow When a person thinks about the YMCA of Berks County/Reading, he/she may think about the family programs such as swimming, child care, basketball, fitness center and summer camp. But did you know that YMCA also provides transitional housing to individuals seeking assistance with life skills, self-improvement and support. Jami Geist, YMCA’s Housing
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There is Help Where it is Needed The Council on Chemical Abuse works with many organizations that provide services for Berks County residents. Anais Clemente, Intake & Benefits Coordinator for the Council on Chemical Abuse, works out of an office at Treatment Access and Services Center (TASC). There she works directly with individuals who are in need of treatment and are applying for medical
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COCA SERVICE PROVIDER – Berks Counseling Center Berks Counseling Center is a licensed facility that provides drug and alcohol services to individuals living in Berks County. The Council on Chemical Abuse has contracted services with Berks Counseling Center to include outpatient counseling, Student Assistance Program services, Intensive Case Management and Transitional Housing for
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How Individuals Can Access Treatment When it comes to loved getting help for drug and/or alcohol abuse, access to treatment can be challenging, especially if you have no insurance or your co-pay is high and you cannot afford it. Fortunately the Council on Chemical Abuse provides funding for the uninsured or under-insured who desire to get help and are seeking treatment. Bernice
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Don’t Get Hooked Red Ribbon Week is the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. It serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand against drugs and violence. Through drug prevention and education, youth and families are encouraged to live drug free lives. Prevention Specialist, Dan Pfost shares the story behind Red Ribbon Week, which
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Saving Lives Kathy Noll is the Program Analyst at the Council on Chemical Abuse. That means she works on various projects within the agency to ensure quality program deliverables. The Naloxone Project started in 2015. A grant was approved for the training and dispensing of Naloxone to the general public. The grant has ended, but COCA feels this project is a critical need to the
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Berks Schuylkill SCORE Meet Fabienne Daniels Fabienne Daniels started a business called "Off Site Assistants" She helps clients maintain their sales, service, organization, websites, order processing and more! When Fabienne moved to Berks County she started to put pieces together to create a strong foundation for her business. She shared her experience with creating a business plan and
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Take Action – Be Part of the Change Former employee, now Board Member, Jobany Bedoya has experienced both spectrums of the Council on Chemical Abuse. Jobany says he was hired at COCA as a contractor to provide Tobacco cessation classes in Spanish. Soon after, his role expanded and he provided education and awareness about the problem gambling. Jobany also worked with local
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Community Education yields Community Solutions “We need to understand the nature of the disease and bring resources to raise awareness with solid information about the problems and solutions”, states Drew Eisenhauer, a Consultant for the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA). Drew was referring to the commitment COCA has for sponsoring an annual conference. For 15 years as part of his
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Certified Recovery Specialist at Work Mike Reese retired from the City of Reading in 2011. It was not long after his retirement that he began contracting with the Council on Chemical providing information, education and raising awareness about problem gambling. Mike says problem gambling is much like other behavioral addictions in that is affects that part of the brain he likes
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Helping Others; Giving Back Easy Does It, Inc. is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping individuals transform from a life of self-destruction and a world of purpose, hope and renewal. “All of the staff are in recovery”, states Phil Bennett, Case Manager at Easy Does It, Inc. – Walnut Street. That is a plus when you are working with individuals who are
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Camp Joy – A Path to a New Life in Recovery Lee Cruz is a case manager at the Camp Joy Recovery Housing facility which is operated by the YMCA of Berks County. Lee says he was a previous resident at the YMCA, after receiving his 3rd DUI, before becoming a case manager. Today, a person in long- time recovery, Lee says he believes in the value of one person helping another.
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Boyertown PAYS Task Force Does Big Things. On Tuesday, April 1, 2014, nearly 600 people packed the Brandywine Heights Middle School auditorium. What was the reason? A town hall meeting about the epidemic of fatal drug overdoses in the Topton community - five recent graduates of Brandywine and Kutztown had died due to drug overdose. Seeking answers and desperate to help - the community began
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Young People Take Charge Project Peace was founded in 2010 by students at Reading High School, reacting to the gun murders of four of their classmates in one school year. The student lead organization works within the schools and the city to promote peace and non-violence among young people and adults. “There are Project Peace groups in the both high schools and the middles schools says,
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A Heart to Help For those who enter the field of addiction as a profession, passion for the work and the people they interact with is necessary to help individuals and families in need. Jamie Cappiello, a recent Alvernia University graduate from the Behavioral Health Program, already has hands on experience in her field of study and is eager to continue working to help educate others.
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Help is there When You Need It Research indicate today’s youth is grappling with a myriad of issues, including self –esteem, peer pressure, academic achievement, and worldview outlook. These dynamics can make it challenging for students to focus in school and/or home. The Student Assistance Program provides assistance to students in a school setting. Student Assistance Program
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You are Not Alone Individuals in early recovery from alcohol, drugs and other behaviors find themselves in a whirlwind, trying to get steady on their feet. Both life-skills and living skills need to be cultivated and nurtures. For the individual fighting to get well, the road can seem lonely. Margaret Baldwin, Certified Recovery Specialist from TASC explains who the services of a Recovery
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It Takes a Community The age-old saying “it takes a village to raise a child” still rings true today in the Berks County community. Many communities in the county are working together to provide educational programs for children. Just one of these organizations is the Reading Recreation Commission. Heather Boyer has been serving the Reading community for over 20 years, and current acts
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Teens & Technology It’s not just the kids who may need to evaluate how much time they spend on with technology and video games. Anyone, any age can find themselves losing hours glued to a screen, whether it’s video games, email, Facebook or watching Netflix. Research now shows that the same part of the brain that responds to drugs and alcohol responds to our
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Underage Drinking is a Crime What is the number 1 drug used by youth between the ages of 12-18? If your guess is marijuana or cigarettes, you are incorrect. Alcohol is highly used among youth and it continues to have popularity in all areas of our community. Alcohol is available through friends and family. Underage drinking is a crime punishable by fines and other penalties and
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It Takes A Village Developing partnerships and collaborative communities are essential ingredients to building resilient youth. Dr. Jill Hackman, Executive Director of Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU) and Board Member for the Council on Chemical Abuse says partnering with the Council on Chemical Abuse has helped her and the BCIU become better stewards to the 18 school districts in the
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Empowering Youth Council on Chemical Abuse Prevention Manager, Jackie Steed and Yvonne Stroman, Community Programs Specialist discuss the importance of prevention in our community and schools. Evidence Based curriculum such as LifeSkills is a fifteen session education program that addresses refusal skills, decision making and dangers related to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, teen violence,
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They are Learning in LifeSkills programs. According to Megan Faust, a Reading School District teacher, the kids have a lot of questions during their sessions of receiving LifeSkills, an evidence based curriculum for middle school youth that teaches refusal skills, self-esteem, decision making and the dangers of Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs. Megan is one of the teachers whose classroom is a
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It’s Not Just About Telling Youth Not to Do Drugs Empowering students to say no to drugs and alcohol requires more than telling them, “Just Say No!” Through the instruction of 15 sessions of Botvin’s Evidence Based, LifeSkills students gain knowledge on refusal skills, self-esteem and more. Paige Carroll, a member of the Prevention team at the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA), talks
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We are all in this Together Council on Chemical Abuse staff Sonia Santiago, a Certified Prevention Specialist and Yvonne Stroman, Community Programs Specialist sit down to discuss the Underage Drinking Program facilitated by the Council on Chemical Abuse in collaboration with the local District Magistrates, law enforcement, juvenile probation and Certified Drug and Alcohol
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This is to help, not harm you... Sitting in a class at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning may not be a choice, but the information learned in this classroom is life changing. The Underage Drinking Program of Berks County is an educational opportunity for underage youth and parents to learn about the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol, and for some to get the help they may need to address an
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The World according to Problem Gambling Problem gambling is a disorder that interrupts every part of your life. Relationships are compromised, employment is challenged and finances are shaky. It can cause bankruptcy, physical and emotional stress and worry. Join Yvonne Stroman, Community Programs Specialist from Council on Chemical Abuse and her guest, Bob Schwartz as they discuss the
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The World according to Problem Gambling As Director of Planning and Resource Development, Marcia Goodman – Hinnershitz sits down with Yvonne Stroman to talk about problem gambling, its pervasiveness, behaviors and attitudes associated with problem gambling and what resources are available for people living in Berks County who may be living with a gambling addiction, but do not know where to
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Celebrating “Tobacco Holidays” What are tobacco holidays and why do they celebrate them? Every year, during the month of March people all over the country celebrate Kick Butts Day - a national day designed to educate and empower teens to say no to tobacco. The Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA) joins in on the celebration! Prevention Specialist, Teresa Tieman Detweiler joins Jennifer Kaucher
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Be Tobacco Free – There is Support Did you know Nicotine is said to be the most addictive substance – more addictive than heroin?! The drug found in tobacco products, nicotine, is what leads to addiction. Council on Chemical Abuse offers resources to help people quit smoking. In this podcast, host Jennifer Kaucher is joined with Teresa Tieman Detweiler to talk about the free tobacco
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Addiction is the most Treatable Disease. George Vogel started working with the State Employment Office and had an interest in criminal justice. He ultimately was assigned to work with people on probation, parole and in prison. George found that the people he worked with could not hold a job. George says, “There was another piece that was so obvious it would be hard to deny
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’It’s all About offering Help and Assistance and Paying it Forward’ Yvonne Stroman is a Community Program Specialist with the Council On Chemical Abuse and has been affiliated with COCA for over 20 years. She believes it’s important to share recovery. Yvonne says at Coca “We speak about the disease of addiction, people do and can get well. Families do get better. Hope is just
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT9BBLsNX1I People Get Well... There Is Hope! Jennifer Kaucher, a Prevention Specialist with COCA got involved with drug and alcohol prevention in high school. She had a deep desire to get involved in events that weren’t surrounded by drugs and alcohol. She and 3 friends started a program that encouraged drug and alcohol free lifestyle, activities and events.
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Premier Show: What Is The Council On Chemical Abuse and What Do They Do? Jennifer Kaucher, Prevention Specialist, and Yvonne Stroman, Community Program Specialist, are your hosts and they sit down to have a conversation with the Council on Chemical Abuse (COCA) Executive Director, George Vogel about the history of COCA. During the conversation they find out how COCA got started, the agency’s
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Cocktails and Classics tonight benefiting the Reading Public Library, Philadelphia
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505 Penn St. (2nd floor)
Reading, PA 19601
484-577-3699
