Hanover Cares Coalition gets National Recognition

In February 2018, Hanover Cares Coalition hosted an inaugural event called Cafe Conversations, an event designed for middle school youth and their parents to encourage communication about tough subjects relative to substance use, social media, bullying, mental health, and just how hard it is to be a teen in today’s society.

Hanover Cares Coalition serves a population of 100,000 in the entire county of Hanover and Town of Ashland, Virginia. Hanover residents are mostly middle class working families, and the county has a low poverty rate. The community is considered suburban and is situated about 20 miles north of Virginia’s capital and major city, Richmond, Virginia. Hanover County has one public school system and the county is considered a great place to raise children and one of the top 100 places to live.

“We’re proud of this event because it is challenging to figure out not only how to engage parents, but to get them to participate in events after the school or work day, and the fact that we were able to bring youth and parents together to educate them,” said Octavia Marsh, Executive Director at Hanover Cares Coalition. “At the event, we started with youth and parents in the same room for a presentation offering some statistics and information supporting why there is a need for prevention. Then, each went into breakout sessions.”