Pittsfield Drug and Alcohol Coalition (PDAC) June 7th, 2010

Agenda New opportunities Forum Debrief Next steps Remaining activities

Secured Opportunities $3,260 Four Teen Institute Scholarships (thanks Zach!) $7,000 Media Power Youth Five Day Workshop http://www.mediapoweryouth.org/prevention.html $2,000 Technical Assistance from Center for Excellence Total: $12,260

Training Opportunities $2,000 from Center for Excellence $280 in the original grant budget What kinds of training do we want to focus on? What would the goals be? Volunteer recruitment Formalization of existing roles Prioritizing activities Using evidence-based strategies

Forum Evaluations Evaluations: all rated good or outstanding May 17th : 20% said they didn’t like the discussion format May 24th: One participant disliked the discussion format How to improve discussion format? Pass out the evaluations. One participant said “more kids’ voices” and the other “not everything was talked about”

Community Needs 1st forum: Alcohol and Depression Change the culture Speak up with family, friends Positive media messaging Focus on specific geographic locations Bullying Bystander Project More programs for girls, parents, community Recognizing signs and symptoms Online issues (bullying, safety, etc.) Non-sport alternatives Support what already works: advisories, after school activities Community education to build support and cooperation Role of law enforcement: achievements, capacity, what else is needed? Citizen Patrol Neighbor supporting neighbor / Safe Homes Pledge

Community Needs 2nd forum: Sex and Drugs Media Literacy esp. around Perception of Risk Write a PSA re: sexual activity, play at sports banquet Get your friends to quit with you, promote smoke-free zones (not parent-related) Safe Homes Pledge Info for parents: what OTC drugs are used to get high? Speaker: how to keep up with trends, signs, parents’ websites, etc. CRCPC resources: OTC kits (age appropriate) Door to door safety campaign with an officer and parent or youth Sex Ed: begin younger, at home, age appropriate Raise parent awareness A series of “Did you Know” articles with local resources Technology and sexual activity Peer support: a network of parents Political advocacy

Parent Education Speaker Jayne Hitchcock : $700 for Sexting, Texting and Chatting, Oh My! MediaSmart: Is a cell phone or computer screen standing between you and your kid? Media Power Youth, $400

CRCPC Grant What’s been done: Still to do: Project Alert Business forum Civic forum Two community forums Safe Homes Pledge New volunteer faces and connections Press releases Refreshed website Bulletin boards Still to do: Directory Publicize enforcement activities Citizens Patrol

Other news National Night Out is August 3rd, if we want NNO promotional products we should order by next week http://www.nnosuperstore.com/ Project Alert is wrapping this Thursday! Some folks will be contacted in the coming weeks for a regional interview to help plan for the regional coordination plan for Fall 2010

Next Steps… Sarah will draft a series of articles for the Sun “Did you Know?” with local resources for parents All will continue to promote the Safe Homes Pledge, directory to be compiled after Old Home days and distributed through school in Sept. Sarah will check with Jeff and secure a speaker for the day of 9th grade orientation Media Power Youth will begin this summer and have 5-8 youth Sarah will get OTC info kits from Shannon from CRCPC Zach will continue to fill the Teen Institute scholarship spots The Chief will be holding neighborhood safety forums in conjunction with PDAC and Safe Routes to School