Who Is the Coalition?
Find out who we are--and get involved!
Coalition Leadership Team
Margaret Watt (Role at TNP: manager of federal grant focused on alcohol & marijuana)
Prevention Director, Positive Directions -
The Center for Prevention & Counseling
Margaret oversees Positive Directions' substance use and suicide prevention work in Norwalk, Westport and Fairfield, including managing the federal Drug-Free Communities grant which Positive Directions received for Norwalk, which provides the bulk of The Norwalk Partnership funding. Her background is in public health and education, and she has served in regional behavioral health leadership positions in Southwest CT since 2012 (executive director, Southwest Regional Mental Health Board; co-director, The Hub). She is the proud parent of a 2021 P-TECH/NCC graduate and a NHS junior. She is also a past SGC and PTOC member. She can provide presentations and trainings in Spanish and French.
Coalition Members
Prevention coalitions operate by bringing 12 key stakeholder groups, aka "sectors," together, as shown in the graph.
We work hard to make sure all 12 sectors are actively involved in our coalition. Current participants are listed below:
YOUTH: Contact Rebecca to join our Norwalk Strong clubs at BMHS and NHS.
PARENTS: We have a number of Norwalk parents in our coalition, some participating both as professionals and personally. We welcome more parents at all times!
NONPROFIT & VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATIONS: Positive Directions*, Human Services Council*, Norwalk ACTS, Community Action Agency of Western CT, Family and Children's Agency
FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS: Triangle Community Center
- SCHOOLS: Norwalk Public Schools
GOVERNMENT: Norwalk Community Services, Norwalk Youth Services Bureau, Norwalk Health Department
LAW ENFORCEMENT: Norwalk Police Department
YOUTH-SERVING ORGANIZATIONS: Child & Family Guidance, Kids in Crisis/Teen Talk, Mid-Fairfield Child Guidance Center, Youth Business Initiative (YBI)
HEALTHCARE: School-Based Health Centers, Norwalk Community Health Center, Catholic Charities of Fairfield County
- SUBSTANCE USE ORGANIZATIONS: Courage to Speak Foundation, CT Counseling Centers, High Focus Centers
BUSINESSES: Chamber of Commerce
MEDIA: Katie Gallo (Daydream Communications)
We also prioritize involvement from all the cultures that represent Norwalk's full diversity. We have Spanish and Creole-speaking members available to work with our English Language Learners.
*Positive Directions - The Center for Prevention & Counseling and the Human Services Council are the fiduciaries for TNP.
Community Partners
We have special partnerships with Norwalk ACTS and Norwalk Public Schools, collaborating on Social-Emotional Health, conducting our youth survey, and disseminating the results.
We welcome representation from all youth-serving groups in Norwalk--faith ministers, scout leaders, sports coaches, enrichment program directors, etc.--to collaborate with us. We are stronger together!
We can support your work through:
sharing our data
providing presentations & trainings
helping share your programs and events
amplifying your social media
giving your youth a place to participate in prevention work
You can support our work through:
following us on social media (Facebook & Instagram)
subscribing to get our blog posts and resharing our information & resources
joining our coalition meetings to share your insights and help develop plans
sharing your program & event information