FUNDING ALERT: Youth Mental Health Grants

 

 

 

 

 

The Viola W. Bernard Foundation is seeking applicants for a series of Youth Mental Health Grants.   

 

The Viola W. Bernard Foundation was established to provide seed money for innovative mental health programs with an emphasis on families and children. The purpose of this program is to support innovative programs that address the interplay between social conditions and the psychological health of children and families.   

Eligibility: Eligible applicants include projects or programs for youth that involve a mental health component and preference is given to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

Amount: Award amounts vary (Examples of past recipients)

Contact: Please contact the Viola W. Bernard Foundation for more information and to apply for this funding

Deadline: 1/31/13 

Grass Roots and Growing

by Dan Stinson

Prior to six years ago, there was no real drug and alcohol prevention initiative in the community of Grand Island, New York. The new High School Principal, in an attempt to ascertain the needs of the school, sent home a survey to parents asking them what they considered the main issues. The answer came back load and clear; “You have a drug problem at the school and nothing is being done about it”.

That’s when One Island,One Team, One Dream, to be Drug free, was born. Starting off as a very grass roots group, we have grown to include members from almost all walks of the community including, the School Superintendent, high school and middle school Principals, the Ministerium, health care providers, counselors, law enforcement, Town Justice, Town Board, ECCPASA, Kids Escaping Drugs, Horizons Health Services, Youth Board, PTA, and concerned students and parents.

One Island’s reach now encompasses the entire community and takes on other issues related to prevention such as domestic violence, graffiti and bullying. Even though we have gained a great reputation and won organization of the year last year, having recently implemented the Strategic Prevention Framework, we are only just beginning to realize our impact.

About the Contributing Blogger
Dan Stinson is the Chairman of One Island, One Team, One Dream, to be Drug free.  Located in the town of Grand Island, part of Buffalo, NY, the mission of the coalition is to establish a healthy, drug free school and community. Our immediate goals are to see a marked reduction of alcohol and drug use among students within a two year period and to increase awareness of the problems and their solutions. 

Learn more about One Island, One Team, One Dream, to be Drug free

Transformation - The Floyd Taylor Story (Part 3)

This is a 3 part series detailing the story of Floyd Taylor, a youth member of the
Forward South Bronx Coalition.

 

By Cedric McClester

 

In brand new situations, some people are like fish out of water, while others are to the manner born.  Floyd proved to be the latter, rather than the former.  You would have thought that Floyd was a graduate of the Dale Carnegie course, “How To Win Friends and Influence People”.  At the CADCA training Floyd was exposed to people from all over the country and Puerto Rico.  More importantly, people became exposed to him.  He became the Forward South Bronx Coalition’s goodwill ambassador.

Floyd found the workshops beneficial and informative and brought back tons of literature and business cards of the people he met.  Perhaps, the greatest lesson of all he learned during those five days in Nashville was people are basically the same, no matter who they are or where they come from.  To put it in his words, I’ve learned that no matter where they come from, or whatever their race or religion is, people are basically the same.  I no longer see color when I look at people.”  Indeed, sometimes coming together can be transformative.

 

 

About the Contributing Blogger

Cedric McClester is the Director of Community Relations for SFI (formerly Sports Foundation, Inc.). Sports Foundation Inc. is a social service organization that provides free counseling, sports, health and education programs and activities for today's youth. He is also the coordinator of the Forward South Bronx Coalition. The vision of the Forward South Bronx Coalition (FSBC) is to create a culture within the South Bronx that promotes healthy living, hopefulness, and connectedness within the community to instill a sense of present and future possibilities.

 

 

POLL: Should Non-Medical Marijuana Be Legalized?

Upcoming Webinars Tackle Underage Drinking

The Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center released its monthly Resource Alert Summary and included dates for a few upcoming webinars that explore the topic and consequences of underage drinking from several unique perspectives.  See below for more information:

---

Maximizing Today’s Technology to Reduce Underage Drinking

Date: Thursday, December 20, 2012 

Time: 3:00-4:15 p.m. ET

Speakers:  Officer John Schutt, Las Vegas Police Department, NV;  Jared Olson, Traffic Safety Prosecutor, Boise, ID

Everywhere we look, technology is being leveraged to make our lives move faster and more efficiently.  Officer John Schutt will provide an overview of how geographic information systems (GIS) mapping helped the Las Vegas PD focus their EUDL enforcement efforts, resulting in improved alcohol retailer compliance. Traffic Safety Prosecutor Jared Olson will add to the discussion sharing how social networking platforms can be used to develop local intelligence regarding underage drinking events and serve as a foundation for preventative action.  Registrants will learn how using today’s technology can be tools to strategically deploy resources.

*Visit www.udetc.org/audioconfregistration.asp to register.*

Motivational Interviewing: How to Communicate with Defendants and Respondents to Motivate Them to Succeed

Date: Thursday, January 10, 2013     

Time: 3:00-4:15 p.m. ET

Speaker: Roxanne Bailin, Chief Judge, Boulder, Colorado

Motivational Interviewing is a collaborative, goal-oriented method of communication with particular attention to the language of change. Motivational Interviewing has been shown to markedly improve outcomes for defendants, parents, and juveniles in terms of reducing substance use; changing antisocial attitudes, values, and beliefs; reducing negative peer associates; promoting identification with pro-social role models; increasing self-regulation skills, and increasing relapse prevention skills. Registrants will learn more about this method in this enlightening webinar.                      

Register on line at:  

*Visit http://www.udetc.org/audioconf_judicialregistration.asp to register.*

 

Alcohol and the Adolescent Brain

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2013     

Time: 3:00-4:15 p.m. ET

Speaker:  Aaron White, PhD. (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and Abuse, MD

Dr. White will share the most recent and compelling research on the effect of alcohol on the developing brain. He brings together a developmental understanding of the adolescent and the structural changes that the brain undergoes which affects behavioral choices. Registrants will learn how early alcohol use can be damaging to the critical developmental process occurring in the brain and the necessity to deter underage drinking.

*Visit www.udetc.org/audioconfregistration.asp to register.*

Multiculturalism is Easier Said Than Done

(A/K/A Having bilingual  brochures is not enough)

 

How have you connected to your neighbors?

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be sponsoring its 2nd Annual National Prevention Week from May 12-18, 2013.  This week-long event was created to spotlight community events that inform and educate the public about the dangers and consequences associated with unhealthy behaviors including underage drinking, substance abuse, obesity and nutrition, and problem gambling; and promote mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being

In preparation for NPW, SAMHSA is looking to expand its outreach to involve different ethnicities and cultural groups and has requested the assistance of local community organizations to provide ideas on reaching people where they "work, live, and play." 

Since reaching a balanced approach to cultural diversity tends to be an issue that most community based organizations and groups have to confront on a regular basis, this would be a excellent opportunity to hear from you about ways your agency or group has been able to reach other ethnic, cultural, or religious groups in the neighborhood.

 

Post your comments below on how you've connected to other ethnicities in your neighborhood....

Specifically,

·         What tactics have worked for your organization, to reach multicultural audiences? 

·         Is it important to translate materials?

·         What media is most important to your communities when looking for news? 

o   Radio?  If so, what networks?

o   English-language news sites?  If so, what sites?

o   Multicultural news sites?  If so, what sites?

·         What national multicultural organizations do you trust, or have worked with successfully in the past?

 

Drugs & Alcohol Tied to Strokes in Young Adults

A new study reported that young adults that suffered strokes were often smokers or had abused drugs and alcohol in their lifetime.

Conducted in Ohio and Kentucky, the findings indicated that long term damage to the heart, blood, and arteries resulted from heavy drug use or drinking and put substance abusers at a higher than average risk earlier in life.

"According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, close to 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke every year, and strokes are the most common cause of serious long-term disability. One study of 2007 data found that almost five percent of people who had a stroke that year were between ages 18 and 44."
The current study included people from Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky who'd had a stroke before they hit 55.

Dr. Brett Kissela from the University of Cincinnati and his colleagues reviewed medical charts for blood or urine test results or other records of substance abuse for close to 1,200 stroke patients.

In 2005, the most recent year covered, just over half of younger adults who suffered a stroke were smokers at the time, and one in five used illicit drugs, including marijuana and cocaine. Thirteen percent of people had used drugs or alcohol within 24 hours of their stroke, according to findings published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

"The rate of substance abuse, particularly illicit drug abuse, is almost certainly an underestimate because toxicology screens were not obtained on all patients," said Dr. Steven Kittner, a professor of neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore who also wasn't part of the research team.

"It's certainly underreported," he told Reuters Health.

The rate of smoking, drug use and alcohol abuse - defined as three or more drinks per day - seemed to increase among stroke patients between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s.

But Kissela and his team said they can't be sure whether more people were actually using those substances or doctors were just getting better at testing for and recording drug abuse.

The study also can't prove that patients' drug or alcohol use directly contributed to their strokes. It's possible, for example, that people who abuse drugs also see their doctors less often or engage in other risky behaviors that increase their chance of stroke, Josephson explained.

He said the study emphasizes the importance of learning and quickly recognizing the signs of a stroke - such as weakness on one side of the body and dizziness - even for young people. Some treatments can only be used during a short "window of opportunity" after the stroke.

"We see patients all the time who have symptoms that are classic for a stroke and those symptoms are not recognized as being stroke symptoms because of the idea that, ‘Well, that's something that happens only to older people,'" he said.
Source: The Chicago Tribune