I live in a very normal community. There are several different neighborhoods, but inside these neighborhoods, people know each other. Schools can be seen almost everywhere that you go, and shopping centers are always buzzing with people rushing to get the newest invention or the final ingredient for dinner. If one would come here for a couple of days or even weeks, they would think that it is a very wonderful place, and it is. However, problems that most people wish to ignore still exist. One of the problems includes the use of drugs and alcohol. The Commack Coalition of Caring tries to spread awareness about this issue, and they have made a very positive influence thus far.

The Commack Coalition of Caring, or CCC, is a group of normal people who live and/or work in the community to try to make more people acknowledge the problems and issues that come along with doing drugs and alcohol. The CCC began twelve years ago, and their mission has stayed the same throughout the years. The people within the coalition hold monthly meetings where they discuss a variety of topics, as well as fundraisers that will help raise awareness about this problem. Their goal is to prevent substance abuse entirely, and they try to accomplish that through a variety of different activities throughout the town of Commack. The CCC holds many fundraisers every year. They hope that these fundraisers will help spread awareness throughout the community. After each fundraiser, more and more parents, students, teachers, and others in the community learn about their goals, and try to help out. Everyone can help out, and that starts with making it a personal goal to never use drugs or alcohol. Recently the CCC held a 5K run/walk. Over 260 people walked or ran in the inaugural race. It was very cold, and even raining, but these people showed up anyway because they care about the good of the community. Next year they hope to have more people come, as well as a nice, sunny day. Along with that, they try to encourage parents to make sure their children aren’t abusing these drugs. They also try to make the parents realize that if underage drinking is going on in their household; they will get in trouble for it. The CCC goes by the motto; “Parents Who Host Lose The Most” The CCC is making a very big and positive difference in our community. They are doing a very good job in spreading awareness about this terrible issue, and we are all very grateful of them for that. Who knows how big this issue would have been if a group of people hadn’t come together twelve years ago to try to put a stop to substance abuse. Years from now, maybe they will have put a stop to this problem in our community, my community.

Our community isn’t much different than others, as these issues exist all over the world. If other towns create organizations like the CCC, we may be able to put a stop to drug and substance abuse entirely. The CCC has been working towards that goal for over ten years, and they won’t stop until this issue is non-existent.