Hi @mcmdev -- I made something that does this:
https://github.com/julianlam/nodebb-plugin-support-forum
Let me know if you run into issues with this plugin, as it is quite old.
Using Persona...
I think that there used to be a way to do widgets for both global and individual categories. I don't see the ability to do this (anymore?) Is there a way to enable this?
You can register new widget areas but need some theme coding
@scottalanmiller Persona does not have widgets enabled. Why?... see this reply from @psychobunny for one of your posts
https://community.nodebb.org/topic/6915/how-to-reserve-screen-space-for-the-global-sidebar/2
You will have to fork the theme and modify it to use widgets.
It has some, just not many.