Podcast: Why bring the worlds of Prevention & Facilitation together? [32]
Today, we’re talking about prevention, facilitation and how to bring those two worlds together. With Steve Miller and Angie Asa-Lovstad, who are prevention leaders and facilitator pros. We’ll discuss everything there is to know about prevention, facilitation, and leadership.
This episode is full of wonderful wisdom stemming from 25 years of prevention experience at the local level, statewide level, and national! We shared a plethora of links for you to check out - be sure to sign up for the Prevention Leaders Cohort or one of the many upcoming Hue Conversation Method courses.
Episode Links:
Prevention Leaders Cohort 2023: https://hue.life/prevention-leaders-cohort/
HUE Conversation Method: https://hue.life/hue-methods/hue-conversation/
Prevention Perk Podcast: https://midamericapttc.libsyn.com/
Mid-America PTTC Website: https://pttcnetwork.org/centers/mid-america-pttc/home
Transcript
Dave: Hey everybody. This is Dave Closson from DJC Solutions, and you're listening to the Prevention Leaders Podcast, the show that brings you conversations with like-minded and driven prevention leaders from across the globe. Before we start the show, I wanna tell you about my partners at Hue Life. They've got this upcoming Prevention Leaders cohort in 2023.
The insights and wisdom packed into this learning journey stem from over 25 years of combined experience and leading community coalitions and substance use and misuse. Today we're talking about prevention, facilitation, and how to bring those two worlds together with the one and only Steve Miller and Angie Asa Lovstad who are prevention leaders and facilitator extraordinaires.
We'll discuss everything there is to know about prevention, facilitation, and leadership. Y'all, thanks for joining us. Welcome, Angie. Welcome Steve.
Angie: good morning.
Steve: Good morning. Thanks for having.
Dave: Hey, it's always great though when we can get together and just chat and odds are, the majority of my listeners are familiar with both of you, but I do know I've got some new listeners that have just joined in listening on the reg. So let's start off with just some, some introduction, sort of who you are and what you do, and also.
A little bit about what led you to working in your current role. Let's kick things off, Angie. What you got for us?
Angie: Sure. So I'm Angie Asa-Lovstad, and I come to you from the great state of Iowa. And, I have over 20 years of experience in prevention as I led a local coalition here in Kath County. eventually ended up leading the statewide coalition called I Iowa's Alliance of Coalitions for Change, AC. Otherwise, not ac d c, AC four C but with that work we instilled a lot of facilitation techniques and tools and, I knew how well they worked with, coalitions across the state of Iowa.
And when the opportunity for me to join Hue Life in 2000. 2019, came about to really spread my reach with those tools and techniques. I joined Pew Life, which stands for human Understanding and Engagement. from that we've been creative in the ways that we can get reach folks in the world of prevention.
And one of those ways is working with our great partnership with ptt.
Dave: And look at that transition. Hey Steve, you're up.
Steve: Well, my path isn't as,as straight as, as Angie's was. probably, I don't even remember how many years ago that would've been. It has to have been. Getting close to 30 years ago, I, had the opportunity to facilitate. and coordinate a DUI intervention program for a person that had, received a DUI in the county where I lived.
And I did that for a number of years. And after a period of time, I used to think I just gotta be something before the red lights go on. You know, I didn't really know anything about formal prevention per. And then life took its own twists and turns. And I, worked in a completely different industries.
And then in 2009, I was moved to ask myself about, making a career change. And I just got to looking around and the very first thing that caught my eye was something called a prevention specialist. And I was like, I think that would be pretty cool. I think I could do. Not really knowing anything about it.
And I think that's how most people get into prevention is not knowing really anything about it. and, it's been an interesting journey since then. I joined an organization in southwest Missouri and learned a lot about the foundations of prevention and, how to do, prevention. Had been involved with because, the, my current employer through ACT Missouri was, a training in, technical assistance provider for the state of Missouri and, and had a lot of, uh, interactions with ACT Missouri over the 12 years that I was, at Community Partnership in Springfield, Missouri.
And, And then Dave Closson got this idea that he wanted to go into business for himself and, start DJC Solutions. And, I was contacted about taking Dave Closson's position. And so, I went from more of a, a localized or community based focus to more of a regional focus through the MidAmerican PTTC, which is housed out of Act Missouri.
And, like you said, some of your listeners may know, but we focus on Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri, and provide training and technic assistance and do an awful lot of work with, HueLife. So we'll talk more about that, I guess as we get into this.
Dave: Yes, indeed. And. Audience members. Steve just gave your little, little glimmer of his intriguing prevention story, and actually I can put a link in the show notes because I was a part of , the transition, bringing Steve in and me stepping out. I got to interview him on the MidAmerica PTTC podcast, where unpacked his story even more.
Talk about a, just a fascinating journey and lots of insights and, and wisdom that you do bring to the table. tell us about that podcast though. What are y'all doing with the P T T C podcast now doesn't have a new name.
Steve: It's gonna have a new name in the new year, so that's kind of exciting. I've been here right at a year now and, you know, I've learned a lot about the nuts and the bolts and I got to thinking, you know, part of that background that I had. when I departed from running the DUI program was I, I worked in radio and television and got a marketing and ad degree and, and, really just kinda liked that stuff more as a nerd than as a, as a, postition.
So, um, we're gonna rebrand our podcast and call it the Prevention Perk and, we will launch that in the new year and I'm excited about. we now are, I think we're at about 63 episodes, so I've gotten my, my, what is it? I've gotten my, my chops or I'm learning them. so it's time to start doing some, some innovative things with it.
And it's always exciting to come up with something, you know, just play around, I guess, more than anything, and find out if it resonates with the.
Dave: I'd say it. It may feel like playing around to us, but those conversations you're having with prevention leaders are making a difference in helping educate and helping lift up. Prevention as a whole, but it is also fun at the same time. I dig that.
Steve: Well, and you know, when, when I, when you and I talked before, I took the position that, that, that I had had some curiosity in my previous role about doing a podcast, and we had talked about it, but we never really got it off the ground. And then when, this was one of the reasons why I thought it would be exciting, because this is such a growing, medium.
You know, there's, there's so much room for growth, with the podcast room where we stream streaming services. And, and so that's kind of exciting and, and, and it's been fascinating the people that I've gotten to have conversation with. Cause,I'm, I'm hoping that if people listen to a podcast, the reason I'm having this conversation is because the person I'm talking to has intrigued me in some way, and I'm hoping that the audience will find something beneficial out of that conversation as well.
I find that to be kind of fascinating about all of this. It's, it's a fun way to, to introduce, our audience to a variety of different, professions, experiences, perspectives. I mean, it's really kind of a fun. Opportunity to, to really build out the prevention method.
Dave: are some of those intriguing guests that you've had recently?
Steve: One of the podcasts that I just did that was really a lot of fun, and it's because I've known this person for a long time. but she wrote a memoir. Her name is, Holly Rader. She is actually a senator for the state of Missouri. And she wrote a story about growing up in a family that struggled with, severe mental illness and also, there was some addiction in her family as well.
And she's done a fabulous job of depicting what that's like. But she also has done a great job in focusing on the back end of it, and talking about being re. And, she was a huge, proponent for the, prescription drug monitoring program in the state of Missouri. We were one of the last to adopt a pdmp, and Holly Rader really led that charge for a number of years until it was successfully adopted.
So it's a fascinating story and, and you get an understanding as to why she led that charge based upon the story that comes out in her, memoir. That was kind of fun. I actually just had a two-part series with our partners over at the National Alliance of Drug Endangered Children. I talked to Stacee Read and Eric Nation on two separate occasions to get a perspective.
Eric's a previous law enforcement. Stacy worked for children's services and their background and how they got to the point where they are today. And so that was kind of fun to really get to know a little bit more about both of those individuals and then, I think there's a couple of things that I'd like to talk about as we move through here.
One of them, as we're looking into the future is harm reduction and what does that mean for the current state of prevention, like what we know it as today. And also about, evidence-based practices, which, Dave Closson knows a little bit about that. Cause you did a three-part series for us back at the PTTC in the past year.
So I think both of those things are gonna play a significant role going forward with. , so it's nice to have those conversations now and start to evolve with.
Dave: Absolutely. And listeners, I'll put a link to the Prevention Perk podcast in the show notes, and it is available on all major podcasting platforms. So, Steve, you mentioned the PTTC. You all are, uh, working hand in hand, side by side together because together is better with Angie and the marvelous team at Hue Life this year, what all you got in.
Steve: Well, I think, I think some of, pretty much what we've been doing, I mean, they've been instrumental in a lot of the work that Pttc has done, especially, through the, uh, pandemic, experience that we all had. I know that that was the first time I had learned of Hue life because they were doing a lot of,webinars on how to take your, facilitation and your coalition experience into the virtual realm.
How to lead those kinds of meetings and how to navigate, platforms such as Zoom. So I found that to be valuable early on. I didn't know that I was gonna be working as closely with them as it turned out that it was, but, you know, we still do a lot of that in the virtual space and.
I think over the next year, and Angie and I have talked about some of the ideas that we have. we both share a like-minded, belief that there's a, a need for bringing this,conversation. The Hue conversation into kind of the rural pockets of America. And sometimes I look at rural America as being the really underserved part of the population.
it's not to discredit some of the other DEI efforts that go on in, our culture. But I think sometimes we don't step back far enough and look at the idea that rural America really is,underserved in a lot of ways. They don't have access to a lot of the, programs, processes, services that we do in a more urban core.
Steve: And so how can we kinda, bring a new way of convening the public? in, in, in those more pockets. And, and I, I, I'm looking forward to what we're able to do, not just the next year, but going forward with Hue Life. Cause I think they bring, really valuable perspective on how to, engage the community in a conversation that, really, can provide benefit.
I mean, it really engages. And, built consensus. And I think that that's, that's something that is at the, you know, foundation of prevention is how do you get the community to come together and decide what is the issue, which ones of those can really tackle? And then how are we gonna go about, you know, and you can bring a group of people together for a full day and figure some of that out.
you'll eliminate an awful lot of. coalition luncheons where we, you know, have a sandwich and talk about the problem and instead this is gonna hopefully help us take it to the next level.
Dave: Right. Well, speaking of taking it to the next level, I'm gonna throw the mic over to you, Angie. Steve, you mentioned in your intro facilitating the D U I class and Angie, you are a facilitator extraordinaire with your root in the coalition world. Let's, let's first just would you describe what is facilitation for our audience members that may have heard the term but not really have an intimate knowledge or relationship with facilitation or facilitative leadership?
Angie: Sure. And we're very familiar with traditional leadership where we tell everyone what they need to do, and I think. Coalitions started building people around the table saying, here's what our grant is, here's what we need to do now let's, all sign up for a committee and let's go do it. Well, that didn't work for me back in the day.
And, in the end, our, our local coalition, I joke always, but it's true, they only have a miniature golf course as a result. Because that was one thing they mastered. They figured out how to purchase a miniature golf course and they run it quite well. But we lost all the strategies because back in the day, that was the kind of leader.
But I learned facilitative methods and I'm like, oh. And still to this day, I do some coaching with Iowa, in their, health and human services. And as we look at those coalition leaders and we teach them how to have that Hue conversation that Steve's talking about, where we really, identify what everyone brings to the table and what they really are jazzed about and what are some of the real struggles that we see in our community, that collective vision that comes from having that individual conversation.
really drives people into thinking they could do something different. And if we don't do something different, we may be stuck in this problem for a long time. And that drives people to action. So what I like to say is facilitation is about really helping people understand how to engage one another to create community level change.
And, by leaving it in the wisdom within the group, that allows all those stakeholders to feel like they have a place at the.
Dave: So stakeholders, lots of different people, perspectives, diverse thinkers, diverse background, diverse experiences. How, how do you, you navigate, how do you bring everybody together for that collective vision and ideally leading to that collective action that is coalition.
Angie: honestly, it usually starts with some grant funding that says we have to, but , once they come to the table that you show appreciation. And one way that we have identified, through our coalition trainings and such, we really dive into the circles of involvement and where do people's. Sit on the circles of involvement.
How much does their personal why? The, why they do their work, why they feel like they're invested in this cause they would do this work even if they weren't paid to do this work. That why aligns with the purpose of the collective. , they're more likely to stay at the table and continue to come even when the money's not there.
And so really identifying that capacity piece, in a way that aligns with individual's perspectives and their, and their, their purpose, their why, and the work that they do.
Steve: You know, that's one of the things that I've really liked about the experience I've had over the last year with,with prevention leaders cohort, but, Primarily around the why, because for a number of years doing the prevention work, where I originally started, that was one of the questions that always came up was, you know, you know, why aren't you here?
And, and, and I, I always try to illustrate, but I didn't really have the, the tools or the technique to really reel down like I'm learning to do now and really help me understand that why. But, you know, on the outset, what I was always asking people is, why are you here? And they would say, Wanna make a difference or it's a problem in our community or something like that.
But really getting up underneath the hood and finding out why are you really here? Really personalizing your experience with, community involvement. And if it's, you know, substance use prevention or if it's suicide prevention or harm reduction or whatever it happens to be. But really getting underneath of it and finding out where the individual is coming from, because then there's kinda.
A sticktuitiveness to it. It's like, oh, now I'm really invested. Cause I've found out for myself why this is important to me. And I think that that's fascinating because the reason I used to ask that question, like, why are you here, is when I was a professional fundraiser,, the gentleman that, taught me, he was a consultant that taught me a lot about how to do that effectively.
He used to always say, find out , where it itches and then, And I used to think that's really interesting cuz that's how you'll find out where a person's coming from, who a person really is. And and I think that's true when it comes to the prevention worker. Do find out really why are you sitting here at the table? And, and then really get them to tell on themselves the importance for actually sticking around and helping to make a difference. And I think that's , one of the practices that I've learned through the PLC is really. Understand, cause I've been doing this a long time, but really understand my whys about rules and things, not, not just professionally, but personally as well.
And I think that that's invaluable.
Angie: So I think what Steve you're referring to is the Simon Sinek, part when we do, so the prevention leaders cohort he talks about is divided over 15 months and each quarter focuses on one segment of the strategic prevention framework, the spiff. So of course we start with assessment, and we do some things with assessment and personal assessment and where you are at as an individual.
But when we start building capacity, we're starting to look at the why and identifying the stories that are behind that. Chandler from prevention leaders too came through and she wasn't gonna be available, so she, she recorded her story. And one thing about evaluation we talk about is, telling a story and how important that is bringing it to life because people need to understand what it really looks like.
Prevention's hard to really see in the numbers right, and it changes slowly. We're making community level change. It doesn't happen overnight, but we can see the, evolution of it. And Ms. Chandler talks about it. She, proudly proclaimed herself as a people focused, collaborative, empathetic preventionist that learned being a chicken was essential and with.
Her 15 month journey included, several components that chicken spells out, but one of them was really to understand her why. And how that really helped her, uncover her journey to becoming a preventionist. And so through her early childhood experiences that is described in this video that she put together for our final prevention leaders cohort, she, tells the story about how her early encounters with, smoking and marijuana that really led her away from that choice and.
the field of prevention later on, and she continued to do her journey. So I think that's really cool when people get to uncover their passion points and what was the pinnacle point in their life that really changed them to a point of, this is what I wanna do with the rest of my life, and this has purpose.
That's what keeps us, keeps us at the table.
Dave: Start with why not just because amazing life-changing book, but it is ever so important. And like you both said, will will help align both individual Why and the organization, the coalition to why build that buy-in that commitment. Absolutely. And gosh, I don't remember when you said it, Angie, but I know you're the one that said it and you talked about how oftentimes in prevention. We'll start with why. We know why we need to do something, and we may have funding that says, Hey, here's what you need to do. Here's your work plan. Here's your, your deliverables. But then when it comes to the how, That is, that is often missing. How do you develop your team? How do you empower? How do you engage?
How do you motivate your coalition, your stakeholders to action? And that's the beauty that I see in bringing facilitation and prevention together. Facilitation is the how the process. And y'all had already hinted at or talked about Hue conversation. Conversations are, oh, so important and oh, so powerful.
You think about prevention, when do you, where do you go a day without having a conversation with somebody every day? You do. And that's how you're gonna start to create change. But let's unpack that a little bit. Who wants to, to tell me what is Hue conversations?
Angie: You wanna be quizzed Steve, or do you want me to take this one?
Steve: Go for it.
Angie: So the Hue conversation is foundational to everything and, and we really, dive into the way people think/ cuz we have all types of thinkers that come to our table and we need to be able to be inclusive of those folks so they feel like they have a purpose at the table. And so we have database thinkers and we need to ask questions that really ground us in the facts and the figures.
Then we have those that are really emotive type thinkers, and those are the folks that just need to explore what's out there, how people are processing that information. What does it mean for you? What does it mean for me? And as those emotive thinkers start, teasing those ideas out, that's kicking into gear for those visionary thinkers.
Hearing all those ideas, how we take in the inform. the way we, like or dislike something, those visionary thinkers are starting to, come into play and they're getting new ideas. And then we have some critical thinkers that say, yeah, but before we can move into action, we need to consider this or that.
And then we have those that have just been dying to move into action for the very get-go. And the cool thing is, is that we have a little bit of all these in us, but some of us are live in one space more than the other. And so as you think about it, in coalition meetings, for instance, you present the information of the latest report and you have a, .
some folks that react to it and that kind of, he helps shape what we could possibly do in the community with that information that we brought to the table. And oftentimes, this is where our coalition leaders kind of make the mistake, is they like, okay, we've got all these great ideas. Who's gonna do what?
And we don't have any, you know, do we have the summary from the coalition leader? And then it's like, let's meet next month instead. This says now, What part of this really draws you in? What are you gonna do between now and the next time? So leaving it in that state of action allows that how to come out.
And so I, the other piece that I heard you say, Dave, is, you know, the figuring out what tool allow your toolbox can you pull to really engage folks the best. So we're continuing our journey around the. , the strategic prevention framework. We're really looking at the tools that can go into planning, right? And so when do you need to pull out the conversation, which builds that shared awareness?
Dave: Or maybe you need to get to some shared agreement and so we're gonna do some consensus building. Then perhaps it's more taking people on a journey. And so figuring out where you're at in your planning stage and what tool you need. I think that's one of the gifts that we bring through our work. The Hue Conversation Method. random plug y'all. Listeners, if you're local to Indiana, HueLife's coming into Carmel, Indiana at the end of February for an in-person training, the Hue Conversation Method. So, check out the link in the show notes and come join me. Let's have some conversations together.
Okay, back to the podcast conversations. Yes. And. one of the things that I love about it is for me, believe it or not, y'all, I tend to be a little more introverted than extroverted. When I've been at coalition meetings, when I've bet at, at any meeting, it doesn't take much for me to, to disengage, to shut down, to be quiet, and not want to, to share my voice, cuz there might be a, a strong voice in the room. the the conversation method, if there even is one, doesn't create space for all the different types of thinkers to, to comfortably share their voice. And that's one of the beautiful things about the Hue conversation method. It, it creates space for all the different thinkers because it's built on personality theory and brain science. I get people that say, well Dave, I have a conversation. I know how to have a conversation. But do you know how to have a conversation that's built on personality theory and brain science? Think about that one y'all. so we've been talking about the prevention leaders cohort, cuz it is coming up.
Registration is open and it kicks off in March, 2023. So just a few months away. It is essentially 15 months jampacked with tools, building your toolbox all around. All built on the hue Conversation Method means to engage different types of thinkers, different stakeholders, how to bring them together in alignment towards the mission of creating safer, healthier communities, more effective coalitions, more effective teams.
It's not just for coalition leaders. Who are some of the, the positions, it a good fit, Angie, for somebody that say, runs a regional prevention team or a statewide prevention team?
Angie: Yes, of course. We've had everything and that's what's really cool about it. And Steve, you can talk to your experience of being mixed up with other folks in different states. You know, we, when we came to the pandemic, Were like, okay, what do, what are our coalition folks need out there? And so this is where it emerged from.
We decided that, you know, we could package this around the spiff and really put all the tools into one package, what we didn't intend and what was a result of it. And you know, the Pttc helped us get the folks from different states too. But we have like seven states in the first cohort. And that mixture of folks from across different.
identifying that we have similar issues, we have similar challenges. there's similar solutions that we all could do. And then finding that support was the un realized benefit of doing the prevention leaders cohort in a virtual space. And we continued to, seek out to have multiple states represented in the cohorts so that you have that cross representation.
And yeah. Steve, you're part of our PLC four.
Steve: I know I'm going to actually, be officially graduated, on Wednesday of this week. That's my, that'd be my,15th and final, session with,with the PLC and, and, and to answer the question about. You know, the size of audience or, or if it's, you know, applicable? just in the short experience that I've had, Angie, and, her, coworkers came out till we were out in Western Kansas and Western, Nebraska.
And we did,a rural road show, where we just went to, different communities in both of those, more rural areas. And we had you. I think the largest audience we had was, right around 20 people. and then just this past month we had a whole host of people from HueLife Gather together in Missouri because they wrangle the crowd over a , two day period with a hundred people. And what's interesting is, is you get the same. it, it not the same results in that what needs to be done in Western Kansas needs to be done across the state of Missouri. But the same result in that the consensus was built, that people were engaged in it, that people were excited about it, that people, wanted to take the next step.
I mean, I've seen people when they stood up, you know, over a two day period and, and shared their experience. sometimes it was really very uncom. For people to be as transparent as they were. But then through this process, it was interesting to watch everybody kind of come together. And what's interesting about that is, is there's a skit that was done during the process where they actually used the song come together to illustrate their experience.
And it was almost like, it just kind of catapulted everybody to a new level of energy. And then when they were signing up for what they were would do next. There was no shortage. There wasn't like, well, you know, Dave can do better, Angie. It was like there were people kind of like, I want to be involved with this and I wanna be a part of that, and I understand this and I want to, I had expertise in that, and it was just like, it was really interesting because you had an opportunity for everybody to be heard and then for everybody to kind of start.
I'm not gonna get my way all the way, but I can understand and respect where everybody's coming from, and we can get started on going in a particular direction. And I think that that was really, was part of it. And, and, and, and I let Angie, she, she done a much better job. I, I would've came up with DEVCA and then struggled with how do I define what DEVCA is and whether the audience knows that or not.
When she talked about data and emotive and visionary and critical and, and action oriented, she's talking about. personality profiles and that, and through all of this work that we did, whether it was with 10 or 15 people or with a hundred people, bringing out all of those parts of their personality, who they are, and bringing that to the table.
And, and on the outset, I would think, you know, how are you gonna wrangle all these cats? You know? The audience really learns to work together. And if a hundred people can do that over a two day period, a community can learn to do that over a period of time as well. And I think that that's the beauty of it, is that, it gets everybody heard because as, , as we've been talking about this, I think, you know, I'm a part of this just like everyone else.
I live in a very fragmented world cause of, one social media, but two, because we're, we went through this pandemic and there's just this pervasive, I. And I don't know anybody that's been doing prevention for any period of time that would disagree with this. The real effective change happens in a community when the community decides to make a change, and that's not Steve doing it or an Angie doing it, or Dave doing it.
It's when the community says this, this is not healthy for our community. Now we need to figure out a consensus on how to deal with this. And it brings everybody together and it gives them the short wins that they need to. And then based upon those short wins, then they can really,be effective for the long term and make some of that, some of that community or some of that environmental or systemic change that needs to happen, happen so that, we can reduce substance misuse,
Angie: I, I would love to come back and paint the story of that skit that you talked about, Steve. Cuz one thing I think that is really, really important that we create as a safe space, right? It wasn't until our last day had we done that activity the very first day, this. Person would not have probably been brave enough.
But, it was a young black woman who, stood up on the final day of this facilitation and said, I want y'all to look around the room. What do you notice? There's not people like me in this room. And so the skit started, in, Re referencing back to Chandler's story that I, referenced earlier, and it may be as something that came out of prevention leaders, I don't know, but she reiterated in her story.
But diversity is being invited to the party. So this young person, young black woman, was invited to the party, but inclusivity is being asked and invited to dance. And so with that, they created the skit where she was laying on the stage, broken. and not supported. And one by one they brought the community supports made out of pipe cleaners.
to her and handed her as the song come together was being played. And then the more supports that she was brought to and the more love that was, shown upon her, the stronger and the higher she stood on the stage until she was in the CEN center of the circle and she was dancing with everyone and they literally were dancing on the stage afterwards.
So I think that's an important part, is creating that. It's one thing to say we got a diverse group of folks that are around our table, but if you're not asking them to dance in the same level and have an equal playing field, and that's really what we're saying, the hue conversation can do is allow all voices to be heard and let them dance at the table the same as the rest.
Dave: I can only imagine the impact that that skit had on the folks in the room. I mean, I started to get chills just, just picturing it. How about powerful,. Oh goodness. And that was in a room full of a hundred people from across the state. Strangers definitely speaks to that safety
Angie: And let's say there were some power players. We had, like, you know, the state legislators were there as long along with SAMHSA and folks that were federal level and, and folks that were, you know, in recovery. So, all aspects, so.
Steve: I think that's the other thing about this whole process. when you, when you bring some of these, techniques, you can do this at a, at a high level, you know, like across the state. You can do this, in your community, you can do it in your neighborhood. You can do it for yourself. And I think that that's the interesting thing cuz it's, it's really, really about having conversation with yourself, being authentic with yourself about that conversation and then asking yourself, okay, this is working or this isn't working, and if it's not working, then what are my options for moving forward to addressing? And it's, you know, if, if you can build a consensus, on, on that, then a problem in past, you know, you're, you're well on your way because the communities agreed that this is something that's done or the individual or the state, whatever it happens. I think that's really the, that's what's embedded in, like doing something like the, the prevention Leaders cohort is really learning a little bit about all of the element.
but through that lens also learning a little bit about yourself through the experience so that, you know, you teach best what you need to know most. And, so kind of bringing yourself into that, into that experience, and then being able to share that with other people.
Dave: Has that, that personal transformation as, as I learned these methods, these tools, I gained more insight into to myself. But then also you're gonna feel even more empowered, more fired up, more capable, more confident about being able to go out and bring people together to, to create. Now I feel like we, we've hit on the benefits, the impact that comes from the 15 month prevention leaders cohort journey , some of the opportunities.
We'll get into a few more there, but I'm curious, what, what would you both say to somebody that might be a little hesitant? I don't know, 15 months. What would you say to something that might be a little hesitant about jumping off into the prevention leaders cohort?
Steve: Well, I think for me personally, . Angie heard this a lot. I think it was probably not until about the sixth session. I mean, I'm going along with it. I'm like, yeah, yeah. Session to session. And, but in my mind I'm thinking, what is going on here? Because it's really about reframing the way you look at this.
I'm, and I'm gonna say holistically, you look at it yourself. You look at it in the community, you look at it across a region, across the state, nationally, whatever it reframes, the way you look at really interact. Yourself, but also with other people. And you don't really learn that in a one hour, you know, breakout session at a conference or a two hour webinar, or even a, you know, a, a two day series or something like that.
This is really something you need a chance to, experience, take a break from, detach from, and then come back to and see how all the pieces fit together. Yeah, it is a big, it is a big elephant to chew and, 15 months is a long time. but unless you're a pretty high functioning individual to begin with, and I can already take myself off the table there, you're gonna need the time to really understand the components of this.
And, and I would say give yourself the gift. Cause it, it takes some time and, and, and I, I'm gonna complete it this. but that certainly doesn't mean I've mastered anything. It's one of those things where, continues to unpack for you as you continue to unpack it. And so, you know, I I would say, jump in because, you know, I've talked about this with other people, people that I've worked with or people that I know, and they're like, you can just see, and they're like, come on, piece that, you know, it's like they can see the benefit of it in the way that it's described.
but then you have to make the decision, am I gonna make an investment? And the investment is really, it's not about the dollars and the cents, the investment. Am I gonna do, do the work? And, and that's where all the difference is made.
Angie: And I think when you look at the 15 months, it goes fast, doesn't it, Steve?
Steve: Oh, yeah. Well, and I always think I would've been 15 months older anyway, so I might as well do it.
Angie: We break those 15 months down into those sessions are only three hour. each month we have two, three hour sessions, so it doesn't take your whole day. And, the camaraderie that you build between your cohort is, it's a journey that you're going on together. And we do create space for you to be that vulnerable self.
And I think that's probably the most surprising thing cuz it is about you as a leader and how do you show up and what are the aspects, of your. , I think as you said, Steve, the, you know, that had a shift of way you approached things, made you think a little differently, challenged you on some of the ways that you had been and how could you be better going forward.
And so it's through that and being supported in hearing, similar stories from others, I think is the power of, you know, we, we say something like, prevention is better together. Right?
Dave: Mm-hmm.
Angie: And I think that's true for this cohort.
Dave: Absolutely. And I would say too, my 2 cents, because I'm the host and I can do that. Right. but learning it, it's a journey. True learning and transformation. And it, if you really want to. Embed the new learnings, the skills, it takes time. Like Steve was saying, it's not a one instant thing if you're , an athlete, a basketball player, you go out and our workshop, Hey, here's how you shoot a three pointer.
You think you mastered that? Do you think you have a good handle on the craft of that skill? No, you need to practice. You get your reps in, get feedback together from others. Learning is a journey, and that journey has best traveled together with others. So yes, folks. I'll put the link of course in the show notes to the website so you can learn some more about the Prevention Leaders cohort or hue conversations.
We've covered a lot here. Y'all shared a lot of wisdom, a lot of insights that I didn't even have in my notes to ask about, so thank you both for, for doing that. Before we close out, I wanna open it up to first Angie and then Steve. Any, any final takeaways, any last thoughts, or, one of my favorite is, if you're gonna remember one thing, remember. What you got for us, Angie, and then Steve.
Angie: You're gonna remember one thing. they have to make space for all the folks around the table to be. To feel included and feel like they have value to be able to contribute to make that community level change happen. And there's processes that, can be learned to be able to do that.
Dave: All right, Steve.
Steve: You know, one of the things that I think about and I believe this is how it should be, prevention is consistently changing. What's interesting is that the components for effective prevention work don't really change. It's, it's the community, right? It's making a difference in your community where you're at, and it, and it is changing.
something to keep in mind is learning how to navigate that change, and I think. Through a process like,learning the Hue conversation and some of the skills that they will teach an individual, it really helps us to better understand how to navigate that change. so hold on to that. and then, sign up for the next.
Dave: Yes, indeed. Sign up for the next course and subscribe. To Prevention Perks podcast as well, so you can stay in touch with Steve and I can't thank you both enough. Y'all know my motto. Prevention is better together, but it is by far much better together with you both. Thank you for having this conversation with me today and many more to.
