Middletown Prevention Coalition

“Talk. They Hear You” mobile app

This app helps parents and caregivers prepare for some of the most important conversations they may ever have with their kids. It shows them how to turn everyday situations into opportunities to talk with their children about alcohol and other drugs, and equips them with the necessary skills, confidence, and knowledge to start and continue these conversations as their kids get older.

App Features include:

Sample conversation starters
Ways to keep the conversation going
An interactive practice simulation section
The opportunity to earn badges for practicing and having real-life conversations
A resources section with informative and useful videos, fact sheets, brochures, infographics, guides/toolkits, and more.

Download the app at samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you/mobile-application

May Mental Health Awareness Month

Islanders Committed students at Middletown High School and Gaudet Middle School designed and coordinated May Mental Health Week activities including:

Distributing green ribbons to support mental health awareness

Handing out Change Direction cards which send a message that it’s ok to reach out for help and signs that may mean they or a friend is experiencing a mental health issue. Cards were also sent home digitally to students and parents.

Facilitated an interactive activity with their peers. Students were invited to fill out post-it notes in response to prompts such as What causes you stress?; What do you do to relieve stress? And what can we do to improve the climate at Gaudet?

Please read our recent Letters to the Editor discussing some of the major concerns around increased access to marijuana for youth, a reduction in youth “perception of harm,” the increased potency of today’s marijuana and forms of consumption available such as vaping and edibles.

The Threat to Our Kids' Health and Safety from Marijuana Edibles by Anne Schultz.

The Unintended Consequences of Marijuana Legalization by Middletown Prevention Coalition Director Lori Verderosa.

For more information and resources on the impact of marijuana legalization at https://learnaboutsam.org

Please support the work of the Middletown Prevention Coalition (MPC)! We welcome your contribution as an investment in the health and wellness of our youth!

Your donation will go to programs and initiatives that will directly impact the mental health and well-being of our Middletown youth.

Donate

Donate to the Middletown Prevention Coalition online.

Vision

To create a safe, healthy, and drug-free Middletown.

Mission

To mobilize and empower the Middletown community through action, education, support, and collaboration to reduce risky behaviors and motivate youth and adults to safe and healthy lifestyles.

MPC Goals

To decrease youth substance use and reduce access to substances while promoting health and wellness in the community and enhancing healthy choices.

To build the capacity of the coalition and the community to reduce youth substance use and create a safe, healthy, and drug-free Middletown where our youth can thrive and achieve their greatest potential.

Definition of "Prevention"

The role of prevention is to create healthy communities in which people have a "quality of life" such as healthy environments at work and at school; supportive communities and neighborhoods; connections with family/friends and drug and crime-free communities.

Prevention focusing on risk and protective factors is based on a simple premise: to prevent a problem, we need to identify factors that increase the risk of the problem developing. We then need to find ways that enhance protective or resiliency factors. - Risk and Protective Factors, Dr. Hawkins and Catalano, University of Washington

Risk Factors & Protective Factors

Risk factors and protective factors are the conditions in the community, family, school, and individual's environments that are known to increase or decrease the likelihood that a young person will engage in one or more problem behaviors, such as substance abuse, bullying, or dropping out of school.

Why do we look at these? The more risk factors youth face, the more likely the child is to have problems as an adult. Enhancing protective factors minimizes the problem behaviors. The MPC looks at our community through this lens so we can select activities, strategies, and programs individualized to our Middletown needs.

MPC Membership

The MPC is a community-based organization comprised of individuals representing various public and private sectors of the Middletown community. These sectors include:

Business
Civic or volunteer organizations
Health care
Law enforcement
Media
Organizations involved in reducing substance abuse
Parents
Religious or fraternal organizations
School
State, local governmental agency
Youth
Youth-serving organizations
Other interested citizens

The "best practices" literature for community change states that all major sectors of a community need to be around the table in order to impact the norms around substance use and create true community change. Are you interested in creating a Middletown where our youth can thrive? Email MPC.