Schools

Underage Drinking, Stress and Bullying Concern in Youth Risk Behavior Study

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The biggest concern for Watertown youth is their access to alcohol, said members of the Watertown Youth Coalition, but other drugs, including prescription opiates, as well as depression and suicide also rank high in the latest Watertown Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The Watertown Youth Coalition received surveys from 73 percent of Watertown High School students and 87 percent of Watertown Middle Schoolers in the 2014 survey, Stephanie Sunderland-Ramsey, Prevention Program coordinator for the Wayside Multi-Service Center, told the School Committee last week. The survey (click here to see) covers tobacco use, drinking, marijuana, cocaine, prescription drugs and opioids, as well as bullying, depression and suicide attempts. Surveys stretch back 16 years, and are given every two or three years. Sunderland-Ramsey said she hopes to survey students in the spring of 2017.

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Watertown Students Attend Anti-Susbstance Abuse Confrerence in Las Vegas

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Four high school peer leaders and their Wayside Youth & Family Support Network Advisors, Shanesha Christmas and Dawn Graham, from the Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC) and Waltham Youth & Community Coalition (WYACC) joined approximately 2,000 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists from across the country in Las Vegas from July 17-21 for CADCA’s (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) 2016 Mid-Year Training Institute. The week-long training, held at The Mirage, taught participants how to address one of our nation’s biggest public health challenges – youth substance use. CADCA’s Mid-Year Training Institute was a one-of-a-kind intensive training opportunity, offering more than 70 half-day and two-day courses geared towards helping participants find solutions to their community’s toughest substance abuse problems.

“The Mid-Year is a unique professional development opportunity for anyone trying to prevent and reduce drug abuse, and its related problems, in their community,” said General Arthur T. Dean, CADCA’s Chairman and CEO. “After four days of intensive training, participants will return to their communities with new skills and strategies, and a clearer roadmap to create environments where young people can thrive.”

This year’s Mid-Year featured a number of renowned experts in the field of substance abuse and prevention, with keynote remarks by Dr. Moira O’Neil, senior researcher and director of interpretation at the Frameworks Institute. The training event covered a wide range of topics – everything from how to prevent prescription drug abuse and reduce heroin use to how to create tobacco-free environments, reduce impaired driving and develop policies to reduce marijuana use, synthetic drug use and underage drinking.

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Free Youth Mental Health First Aid Training Available to Watertown Residents

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Watertown residents can participate in a FREE Youth Mental Health First Aid Training on Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. The training will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Brookline Department of Public Health, 11 Pierce St., Brookline, in the Denny Room

Learn an action plan to help. The training is free for those who live or work in Belmont, Brookline, Waltham and Watertown. INFO: Registration is required. Must attend full day of training. Lunch and snacks will be provided. Course book included.

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Singer/Songwriter Will Talk About Mental Illness at Film Screening in Watertown

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During the month of May, communities across the country are bringing awareness to mental health. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports one in five Americans will be affected by a mental health condition in their lifetime and every American is affected or impacted through their friends and family and can do something to help others. Wayside Youth & Family Support Network and the Department of Mental Health present a free screening of “Pack Up Your Sorrows,” a documentary film about singer/songwriter Meg Hutchinson, which explores the realities of living a healthy life while coping with mental illness. Attendees will have the chance to participate in a live Q&A after the screening with Meg. Pack Up Your Sorrows follows Meg, a Massachusetts native, as she learns to live a healthy life with Bipolar Disorder.

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Wayside Hosting Screening of Documentary Film on Dealing with Mental Illness

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Wayside Parent Partnership and the Department of Mental Health present a free screening of “Pack Up Your Sorrows,” a documentary film about singer/songwriter Meg Hutchinson, which explores the realities of living a healthy life while coping with mental illness. Attendees will have the chance to participate in a live Q&A after the screening with featured singer/songwriter, Meg Hutchinson. Who: Meg Hutchinson, Massachusetts native and nationally touring songwriter, poet and recording artist on Red House Records, living with bipolar. Meg is on the Active Minds Speakers Bureau, as well as, a keynote speaker at universities, conferences and teaching hospitals around the country. What: “Pack Up Your Sorrows and Live Q&A with Meg Hutchinson” hosted by Wayside’s Parent Partnership Program.

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Sign Up for a Free 2 Day Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

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The Wayside Multi-Service Center presents a free 2 day Youth Mental Health First Aid training. The training is an 8 hour course held on Monday May 9th AND Monday May 16th, 2016 from 5-9 p.m. You must attend BOTH evenings. This free training includes:

8 hour training course book
Snacks & Beverages

This training is brought to you by The Wayside Multi- Service Center through The Project AWARE-C grant from SAMSHA

Location:

TBD – Will be in one of the focus communities: Watertown, Waltham, Brookline or Belmont. REGISTRATION:

To register, please email the information below to natasha_pierre@waysideyouth.org if you do not have access to email, call 617-926-3600 x306 or go to http://tinyurl.com/h7b8er9

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Free Financially Savvy Seniors Workshop Offered by Watertown Savings

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Watertown Savings Bank (WSB), Wayside Youth & Family Support Network, Marshall Home Fund, and the Watertown Free Public Library (WFPL) are pleased to present Financially Savvy Seniors, a free, two part workshop developed for people 55 and older. The series will be held Tuesday, May 10 and May 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Watertown Savings Bank room of the WFPL. Refreshments will be served. The May 10 workshop is entitled Money Smarts, and will teach participants to learn how to live within your budget. Also covered will be the emotional impact of money and the various resources available to help people with financial planning or debt.

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Wayside Center Providing Youth Mental Health First Aid Training

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Find out how to tell the difference between normal teen problems and something that could turn into a serious mental health problem through the Youth Mental First Aid training provided by the Wayside Multi-Service Center in Watertown. Wayside, a program of the Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, will provide training to parents, relatives, teachers, and others who work or spend time with teens. The funding for the trainings comes from SAMHSA (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The training lasts eight hours, during which participants will learn the risk factors and symptoms of mental health problems in adolescents and teens, said Stephanie Sunderland-Ramsey, Prevention Program coordinator for the Wayside Multi-Service Center who leads some of the trainings. Some mental health challenges which adolescents commonly face include anxiety, depression, psychosis, eating disorders, AD/HD, disruptive behavior disorders and substance use disorder.