A number of local schools recently hosted public speaker Brittany Richmond as part of their celebration of Red Ribbon Week.

Brought in thanks to the Monroe County Coalition for Drug-Free Communities, Richmond focuses her work on youth and teens, speaking on navigating anxiety and building supportive communities among their peers.

Monica Kirkpatrick, executive director of the coalition, noted how she first encountered Richmond at this year’s Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute, a leadership program hosted at Eastern Illinois University.

CGTI is closely related to Operation Snowball, a program meant to help teens conduct their own advocacy against substance abuse and addiction. The coalition has been strongly pushing to establish Operation Snowball groups among local schools in recent years.

Kirkpatrick, Columbia School Resource Officer Tyler McWhorter – who does substantial work with the coalition – and Dennis Trask with the Healthy Communities Alliance in Red Bud agreed it would be beneficial to get Richmond to present at local schools as part of Red Ribbon Week celebrations.

Kirkpatrick gave much credit to Trask for bringing Richmond to the community. She presented at Columbia Middle School on Oct. 23, and while this was her only stop in Monroe County, she also visited Red Bud, Chester, Sparta and several other area school districts.

CMS Principal Dawn Mueller spoke positively about the presentation, describing it as “an engaging, uplifting experience for our students.”

She further noted the emphasis Richmond placed on helping students build community and move away from isolation, recognize and address feelings of stress or anxiety and use the “Tell Me More Method” to build connections with peers.

Kirkpatrick similarly commended Richmond for her presentation, praising her energy and the way she manages to get students to interact throughout.

“I feel like she really knows how to connect,” Kirkpatrick said. “Her big thing is connection and helping teens not feel isolated in the way they feel. She focuses on giving them tips and tricks to communicate so they don’t feel alone… It just helps with that anxiety.”

She further spoke highly of Richmond as she expressed hope to have her come back to the community in the future, potentially bringing her to more schools in the area next year.

Kirkpatrick also mentioned the possibility of having Richmond return as a keynote speaker for the spring Operation Snowball retreat at Camp Wartburg, though these plans haven’t been finalized.