This July, the PC CARES - At-risk Substance Use (PC CARES-ASU) team gathered 26 dedicated participants in Anchorage for a five-day Training of Facilitators (ToF). Participants left the week energized, committed, and equipped with clear plans to bring Learning Circles back to their communities.
The group of 26 participants included 21 Alaskans and 5 colleagues from Yakama Nation Behavioral Health Services, who have been co-developing the curriculum in partnership with PC CARES through an NCREW grant, and one dog.
This first-ever cohort of PC CARES - At-risk Substance Use (ASU) facilitators participated in virtual learning circles in the 8 weeks leading up to the training. Many of the ToF participants (n=11) were participants in a stacked UAA summer course within the School of Social Work (SWK 490/690: Facilitating Community Conversations about Substance Use Prevention), including seven BSW and four MSW students. The Training of Facilitators (ToF) prepared them to host in-person learning circles in their own communities. At the training, all participants received toolkits with printed handouts, flyers, sticky notes, pens, markers, flip chart pads, and file folders--everything they will need to host in-person learning circles.
Participants commented in the post-ToF training survey:
“I really enjoyed the hands on learning, and the rotation/switching for groups. I can't think of anything that could have been done better. Everyone in this space had a voice.”
“I loved it, at first I was skeptical as I have received a lot of the training around substance use as a peer worker but I loved the way it was put together and how in depth it went into harm reduction in a safe way.”
The ToF marked an important milestone for PC CARES-ASU — not just as a training, but as a launchpad for a growing network of facilitators ready to bring conversations about preventing the harms of at-risk substance use and supporting recovery into their communities.