Redlands Coalition Chair Recognized as Public Health Champion

Mario Saucedo, lifelong Redlands resident and chair of the Common Vision Coalition, was honored as “Prevention Advocate of the Year” by the County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health for his outstanding commitment to proactively address and prevent problems related to alcohol and other drugs. The award was presented to Saucedo at the annual “Recovery Happens Month” event, held Sept. 14 at Sylvan Park in Redlands. Recovery Happens Month is the local observance of the National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month and is a collaborative effort between the County of San Bernardino Department of Behavioral Health and its contracted Alcohol and Drug Service partners. Hundreds of community members and service providers came together for this annual event. Saucedo has worked as a community advocate for more than a decade in order to provide a healthy and safe community for all—especially youth. He has been chairman of the North Redlands Visioning Committee, which was formed along with community members to create a vision plan for North Redlands in 2005. The vision plan was accepted by the Redlands City Council and is now used by city departments to understand the priorities of residents and the needed areas. From the North Redlands Vision Plan the Common Vision Coalition, a community program-based organization, was formed in 2010 and is chaired by Saucedo. The Common Vision Coalition was the driving force that urged city officials to address underage drinking in the city by passing the Social Host Ordinance. Since its passage, Saucedo and the coalition have worked closely with the Redlands Police Department to ensure that youth do not gain access to alcohol. Saucedo and the Common Vision Coalition are working closely with the Redlands Police Department to address synthetic drugs in the community, and most recently, the Common Vision Coalition helped support the late August launch—along with the Redlands Mayor, California Alcoholic Beverage Control and Padres Para Padres—of the Responsible Redlands initiative facilitated by the Redlands Police Department. Responsible Redlands aims to curb the problems related to binge and underage drinking in Redlands in order to achieve a safer, healthier community. As part of this campaign, extra police operations will be out in force at key points through the year. National Recovery Month is an initiative sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The September observance is currently in its 24th year.