Voices for Health
The Voices for Health Blog is an opportunity for the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition's members and partners to speak to an array of prevention topics such as healthy choices, substance abuse, intervention, treatment, and recovery. The goal of the Coalition is to strengthen community collaboration to reduce substance abuse among youth
San Juan Island Prevention Coalition to Attend National Substance Abuse Prevention Conference
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:15 pm by Carrie UnpingcoWashington, D.C. – Health advocates from San Juan County (San Juan Island Prevention Coalition and Lopez Island Prevention Coalition) are headed to Washington, D.C. Feb. 6-9, 2012 to join nearly 3,000 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists and advocates from throughout the country for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s (CADCA) 22nd annual National Leadership Forum. CADCA’s National Leadership Forum is the nation’s largest training for substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and researchers.
Besides the opportunity to learn the latest strategies to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, the coalition will also hear from such conference headliners as Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy and James Fowler, Ph.D., author of Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives, and a Professor in the School of Medicine and Division of Social Sciences at the University of California, San Diego.
The coalition will also have the opportunity to meet and brief Senators and members of Congress from their state during CADCA’s Capitol Hill Day.
In addition, our Prevention Coalition Coordinators, Cynthia Stark-Wickman of San Juan Island and Georgeana Cook of Lopez Island, and last year’s recipient Alex Cook of Lopez Island of CADCA’s Outstanding Youth Leadership Award and have been chosen to present at the National Leadership Forum this coming week! They will offer a workshop on mentoring for success and sustainability. Collaboration at its best!
The coalition has been working on supporting our youth of San Juan County. Last year, at the CADCA National Youth Leadership Initiative program one of our participants, Teddy McCullough of Lopez Island, incorporated his new learned skills to make a difference in his community. Teddy recently was announced as this year’s CADCA Outstanding Youth Leadership Award recipient and will also be a part of the presentation team from San Juan County at the National Leadership Forum this week!
CADCA’s National Leadership Forum features more than 100 training courses to help community and state leaders prevent and reduce substance abuse and its related problems. CADCA is the national membership organization representing more than 5,000 coalitions and affiliates working to makeAmerica’s communities safe, healthy and drug-free. CADCA’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of community coalitions by providing technical assistance and training, public policy advocacy, media strategies and marketing programs, conferences, and special events. Learn more at: www.cadca.org.
For more information about CADCA’s National Leadership Forum, visit http://forum.cadca.org/.
Members of the media interested in press credentials to attend CADCA’s National Leadership Forum should contact Natalia Martinez Duncan at 703-706-0560, Ext. 256 or nmartinez@cadca.org.
Join Us for Rachel’s Challenge on Feb 8 at FHMS!
February 2nd, 2012 at 9:03 pm by Carrie Unpingco
Rachel Scott was the first person killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Her acts of kindness and compassion coupled with the contents of her six diaries have become the foundation for one of the most life-changing school programs in America.
Please join us for this free community presentation, especially if you know a student who saw one of the Rachel’s Challenge assemblies earlier in the day (Feb. 8th). This powerful and moving story will offer our students, teachers and community a chance to inspire each other and make a chain reaction of kindness and compassion. Please invite your family, friends, neighbors, and community leaders. This evening presentation is geared toward teens and adults.
Enjoy a family friendly dinner of mac and cheese starting at 5:15pm in the FHMS Commons. The Food for Thought folks are generously preparing the meal. A donation is suggested at the door. Hope to see you all there!
Please thank our sponsors who make this possible! San Juan Island Community Foundation, San Juan Island Prevention Coalition, Minor Reinforcement, FHES PTA, FHMS PTSA, FHHS PTSA, and an in-kind donation for the childcare location, Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church/Lighthouse Preschool.
You can learn more about Rachel’s Challenge at: http://www.rachelschallenge.org/
See You at the New Year’s Eve Community Celebration!
December 14th, 2011 at 4:56 pm by Carrie Unpingco
Another great program, sponsored by the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition, is just around the corner!
Bring in the New Year with family, friends, and neighbors! Island Rec and the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition will be joining up once again to offer this alcohol-free community party. Music, entertainment, dancing, games, contests, and activities provide fun for people of all ages. We will have our clocks set to Eastern Standard Time to ring in the New Year! All ages are welcome, youth under 12 must be accompanied by and adult. Bring a savory or sweetsnack to share. Saturday, December 31st from 7-9 pm at the Mullis Center. See you there!
Thank you to our partner, Island Rec, for coordinating the event!
To learn more about Island Rec and their programs, visit their webiste at: http://www.islandrec.org/
Don’t forget that the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition now has a Facebook page. Click here to see it!
Try this quiz to see how well you know the myths and facts about alcohol and your health!
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/rm-quiz-alcohol-myths-facts?ecd=wnl_emw_120711
Facebook Provides First-of-a-Kind Service to Help Prevent Suicides
December 13th, 2011 at 7:24 pm by Carrie Unpingco
Follow this link to learn more about how Facebook is getting involved in suicide prevention. This is such a great idea!
http://blog.samhsa.gov/2011/12/13/facebook-provides-first-of-a-kind-service-to-help-prevent-suicides/
Youth Learning Teamwork Skills
United Way continues to provide invaluable support for our county’s youth through many organizations, including the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition (SJIPC).
Youth are experiencing an exciting combination of hands-on educational opportunities – being creatively challenged to discover their own and others’ natural gifts and leadership talents. Hundreds of children in every grade, from preschool to high school, have received support from United Way.
Unique, fun, team-building activities help young people develop essential life skills in problem-solving, communication, cooperation and healthy decision-making. United Way supported the expansion of Challenge this year to include the award-winning Yoga Calm curriculum; enhancing the ability of youth and teens to manage stress and develop healthy practices to improve their physical, emotional and mental well-being, as well as their academic achievement. Older teens are practicing leadership skills with younger youth to create “UNITY in commUNITY,” taking charge of the direction of their lives while helping others.
Please join the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition and our collaborators in thanking United Way of San Juan County for their vision of knowing that creating a healthy community depends on the way we care for our children.
- Alice Hibberd, Challenge Coordinator
Next June, consumers in Washington state will be able to buy hard liquor at grocery and warehouse stores, including Costco.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016720231_elexliquor09m.html
The link below highlights trend data from 2005 to 2009 on emergency department treatment visits involving energy drinks, and describes demographic characteristics associated with energy drinks consumed alone or in combination with alcohol or illicit or
prescription drugs.
These drinks are very popular among middle and high school students.
http://store.samhsa.gov/product/DAWN11-1122
Learning the Meaning of CommUNITY One Beat at a Time
November 13th, 2011 at 5:27 pm by Carrie Unpingco
Brittanie Fenley
FHMS Participates in Youth Leadership Initiative Summit
By Brittanie Fenley, 9th grade student at FHHS
Friday Harbor High School and Middle School have got the beat. On Wednesday, September 28, Kenya Masala came to our school and jammed with us in the Turnbull Gym. We played the drums, laughed, and had fun with Kenya, an energetic man from Jamaica who did not put up with what he refers to as “ITC”, an “I’m too cool…”attitude.
The students jammed together for an hour, while Kenya talked about the benefits of being involved with the community and how it gives us a good feeling. After the high schoolers went back to their classes, the eighth graders stayed and learned what marijuana does to your body. The eighth grade students also defined what Courage, Communication, and Commitment meant to them. They said that courage is standing up for what you believe in, communication is expressing your thoughts and ideas to others, and commitment is sticking to your goals and giving your all in everything you do. The students were split into groups and made up sayings that they could use in the community.
After the day was over, I realized that everyone in our community is a leader. Also everything you do should always give you power over yourself. Stand up and become a part of your community in the San Juan Islands!
Thank you to the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition for putting on this full-day leadership summit.
Kenya Masala uses a technique called Kinesthetic Rhythma-Learning through which people interact with the basics of community development (respect, responsibility, synergy) via dynamic rhythmic sensory awareness activities. To learn more about Rhythm of Life with Kenya Masala, visit http://www.rhythmoflifedrumming.com/.
For further questions, inquiries, or to become involved, call the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition at 378-9683 or email at prevention@centurytel.net.
You can also visit their blog at: http://blogs.sanjuanjournal.com/voicesforhealth/ or become a fan on Facebook!
