Choose a meeting facilitator who can keep the pace moving, remain focused on the meeting objectives, act as mediator in case of controversy, and treat everyone in attendance with respect. Do not become discouraged if only a few people attend. Analyze the reasons for low attendance and make adjustments for the next meeting. At the first meeting, various perspectives about the causes of drug use and how to solve the problem must be shared. The coalition convener should encourage everyone to participate in the discussion and to frame their comments as problem statements with a goal to ultimately articulating a vision for the community.
Substance abuse affects everyone, in every community, in very different ways.
For example, there are those who believe this is exclusively an issue of crime and punishment. At the other end of the continuum are those who see the problem purely as a disease of addiction. And, of course, there are many people with varying attitudes in-between. One of the real strengths of a coalition is that in the end, many people with many different experiences can collectively formulate a vision that is accurate and meaningful. You'll paint this picture using both hard and soft data.