April 2015
For more than 40 years
dedicated to building healthy
families and communities
Inside this issue:
Alcohol Awareness Month
1
Vernon Coalition Update
2
Altitude
2
SCCC/ETV Programs
2
Vernon Coalition Youth
3
Military Night Out
3
Message from the Director
4
Highway Traffic Safety
4
Drug Recognition Training
5
Our Newest CADC
5
Codependency
5
Pathways2Prosperity
6
Coalition for Healthy and
Safe Communities
7
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In Recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month, April will be filled with prevention activities
throughout Sussex County. Alcohol Awareness Month raises awareness while
encouraging people to make healthy and safe choices when it comes to the use of
alcohol. It also opens a window of opportunity to address underage drinking, especially
with prom and graduation season right around the corner.
According to the most recent surveys (Monitoring the Future 2014, NIDA,) we continue to
see promising declines in the use of alcohol among our teenagers. Over the last 5 years,
we’ve seen a gradual decline in alcohol consumption in our 6 th – 12th graders. While this
is great news, the need for continued education and conversations regarding underage
drinking is apparent and necessary. Even though alcohol consumption has steadily
decreased, 1 in 5 high schools seniors report binge drinking (drinking 5+ drinks in one
occasion). At The Center, we continue to educate teens, parents, teachers, community
leaders and health care providers about the dangers and consequences associated with
underage drinking.
Alcohol use by young people is extremely dangerous– both to themselves and to society,
and is directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure,
alcohol overdose, unsafe sex and other problems, even for those who may never develop
a dependence or addiction.
Adolescence is a time of heightened risk taking and young people may not be fully
prepared to anticipate all the consequences of drinking alcohol, such as swigging drinks
to “celebrate” a special occasion, or being in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
Reducing underage drinking is critical to securing a healthy future for America’s youth
and requires cooperative effort from parents, schools, community organizations, business
leaders, government agencies, the entertainment industry, alcohol manufacturers/
retailers and young people themselves.
“Everything is Awesome When You’re Alcohol Free” PSA Contest Over 50 students in
grades 4-12 shared their original messages by taking part in our annual Public Service
Announcement (PSA) contest. Eleven entries were selected to form a positive social
norms campaign throughout the month. Eight poster entries will be featured in the
Schools section of the New Jersey Herald and three essay writers have recorded their
entries, which will be aired on WSUS 102.3 FM. (click for website winners)
Check out below what The Center is offering to families, businesses and schools in
recognition of Alcohol Awareness Month:
 Parents Who Host and Teen Responsibility Event at Newton High School
 TIPS Responsible Beverage Server Training offered at Dennis Library in Newton
 Too Smart to Start and Straight Talk at Valley Road School 4/15/2015
 Hidden in Plain Sight– West Milford High School 4/16/2015
 Distracted Driving/ Intoxicated Driving Event at SCCC 4/20/2015
 Newton Town Hall Meeting 4/22/2015
 Best Practices for Community Events at Stillwater Municipal Building 4/23/2015
 Hidden in Plain Sight– Wallkill Valley Regional HS 4/27/2015
 Straight Talk, Pizza and Volleyball– Hardyston Middle School 4/27/2015
 Vernon Town Hall Meeting at Glen Meadow 4/30/2015
Call the Center for Prevention for more information about any of
these events– 973-383-4787 or visit our website centerforprevention.org
Follow us on Facebook for the most up to date programs!
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
Page 2
April 2015
Vernon Coalition Update
Do you live? work? or play? in Vernon? If you answered
yes to any of these questions we want you to join us on
April 15th at Walnut Ridge Primary School for a Coalition
Meeting. Join us for an informative session and assist us
in planning future events to help keep Vernon healthy and drug-free!
Are you worried about kids using
alcohol and other drugs in your…
neighborhood? school? community?
Join the Coalition:
You get more when you get together!
Join Coalition members as we plan
events, programs and activities to help
keep Sussex and Warren counties
healthy and drug-free!
Meetings are held:
in Newton
2nd Friday of every month
(upcoming dates: 4/10)
from 9-10:15 AM at the Center for
Prevention and Counseling
61 Spring Street, Newton
in Washington
4th Monday of every month
(upcoming dates: 4/27)
9-10:30 AM at
Warren County Community College,
475 NJ 57 W, Washington
Rebecca Dorney
Coordinator, The Vernon Coalition
Altitude students from each school will be creating their very own video
commercial. Students sat down and discussed the problems they are facing in
school and ways in which they can bring awareness to their peers. Drawing
inspiration from their previously created empowering posters, they came up with
5 amazing scripts. The students will utilize top of the line equipment to create
each video commercial. The videos will be aired
on local tv and throughout social media. We will
announce the release dates on Facebook, so be
sure to like us at Facebook.com/altitudenj
If you have a child that wants to participate
please go to our website altitudenj.org to find
your schools next ‘Empowering Media Club’
meeting.
Louie Lavin
Media Specialist
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
SCCC/ETV Programs
SCCC/ETV– Channel 20 Tune into
Sussex County Community
College’s Channel 20 for
prevention programs about current
drug problems and issues.
Squeezing out the Juice:
Tackling the Steroid Issue
4/2/2015 @ 4 & 10 PM
4/3/2015 @ 6 & 10 AM
A Coalition’s Role in Supporting
Treatment and Recovery
4/9/2015 @ 4 & 10 PM
4/10/2015 @ 6 & 10 AM
Marijuana: Reading the Smoke
Signals
4/16/2015 @ 4 & 10 PM
4/17/2015 @ 6 & 10 AM
Peers Influence Peers: Youth in
Recovery
4/23/2015 @ 4 & 10 PM
4/24/2015 @ 6 & 10 AM
College 101: Depression, Suicide
and Binge Drinking
4/23/2015 @ 4 & 10 PM
4/24/2015 @ 6 & 10 AM
April 2015
Page 3
Vernon Coalition Youth Group Update
Above The Influence Youth Group Update:
The ATI youth group is going strong…the winter wonderland didn’t
stop us from getting out and having some fun! Thanks to our High
School youth group leaders for our successful focus group and, of
course, last Month’s youth meeting!
Upcoming Events:
We have our monthly youth group meetings coming up and, of
course,…our Annual Town Hall Meeting! Save the date: April 30th
at Glen Meadow Middle School from 7-8:30 pm. Come out and
support The Vernon Coalition and their youth leaders who have
been hard at work putting together a great evening for you! Dinner
will be provided so please RSVP to
[email protected]. We can also be
reached at 973-383-4787.
To learn more about The Vernon Coalition please
visit us at www.centerforprevention.org –follow link
to Vernon Coalition.
Please “LIKE” us on Facebook at Vernon CoalitionTo Be Drug Free and Vernon Coalition Youth
Group. Follow us on Instagram
@vernoncoalitionyouthgroup.
To learn how you can get involved please contact
[email protected] or call 973-3834787. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Gemma Chalkley
Vernon Coalition Youth Coordinator
Military Family Night Out
On April 7th, Skylands Stadium will be hosting a military
appreciation game. This event is free, but donations will be
accepted to support Sussex County Community College
Student Veteran’s Emergency Relief Program (SVRF). The
Center for Prevention and Counseling will be in attendance to
provide information about our Military Family Night Out
program. Come out and join us!
Natalie Yanoff-Smith
Community and Prevention Educator
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
Page 4
April 2015
Message from the Director:
Our agency is committed to providing recovery
support to those in our community. We are
working hard at bringing programs, workshops
and aftercare supports to people in recovery, to
families of those in recovery and to community
members who care about recovery! This is a
very exciting year for our agency as we offer a
variety services through a grant funded through the Sussex
County Department of Human
Services. Additionally, we are
partnering with NCADD-NJ
Advocacy Leaders and Partners
along with a group of incredible
community and family members
who are part of the Sussex County
Recovery Advocacy Team!
This team of caring individuals
worked with us to host a fun
recovery support event on St.
Patrick’s Day, which was a
wonderful success where green
and gold colors were plentiful and Irish music made us smile. The
food and the company were enjoyed by all in attendance. The
littlest leprechauns in attendance won the 'guess the number of
green M&Ms' contest and conversations included sustaining our
efforts, why events like this
are very encouraging and how
we can support individuals
and families in recovery in
Sussex County. The term
“many hands make light the
work" reflected the work put
into this exciting event with so
many selfless and
dedicated members of the
Sussex County Recovery
Advocacy Group (behind the scenes and at the event) making
sure the evening ran smoothly and deliciously. The menu
included many crock pot dishes along with homemade Irish Soda
bread and a great desserts! A local friend of recovery sang tunes
for the crowd which was enjoyed by all!
We encourage others to get involved with this effort and invite you
to join us at upcoming meetings and events.
Register for the workshop, "Our Stories Have Power"
taking place on Saturday, March 28 from 9-12 Noon
Attend the next monthly meeting of Recovery
Advocates on April 23rd and stay to see the movie, The
Anonymous People from 6-8 PM
Email [email protected] to get on the Recovery
Advocacy mailing list.
Becky Carlson
Events at SCCC through Highway Traffic Safety
The Center for
Prevention and
Counseling is
partnering with
Sussex County
Community College
to address
underage and binge
drinking, as well as
distracted driving
through the Highway Traffic
Safety Grant. Two fun
events have been done at
the college this semester
that focus on these topics.
On February 4th, students
competed in an alcohol
game show where they
were asked challenging
questions and received
prizes. To address the issue
of binge drinking during spring break, a mock tiki bar
was set up on March 10th to serve non-alcoholic
tropical drinks along with education about the risks
associated with binge drinking. More events are
planned for the Spring!
Ayla Bower
Community and Prevention Educator
Louie and Patrice working hard at editing the 2015
high school "Celebrate without Alcohol" message
for parents. Over 20 high school youth joined us
on Sunday, March 22nd at a photo shoot for our
annual graduation prevention message to parents.
We thank the students and their parents for being
a part of this great prevention message for the
prom and graduation season reminding everyone
that youth can stay safe, have fun and celebrate
without alcohol!
Director
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
April 2015
RECOVERY= COMMITMENT
From the desk of Matters of the Heart (Codependency group
facilitator)
Page 5
Congratulations to Joe Diaz!
“Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there.”
- Josh Billings
“Do one thing at a time. The journey begins with the first step: first things first.”
Many statements support the conviction that achievement and success come
from a solid commitment, staying focused. In recovery from addiction many
people have been helped by a 12-step program, and it is emphasized that you
do the program one step at a time, following the order in which the steps are
written.
The enemy of the Say Yes to Your Spirit philosophy is chaos-doing things
higgledy-piggledy, not being focused. Staying with the analogy of dance, it’s
important to know the steps and suggested glides. Otherwise you and your
partner can find yourselves in a horrible heap on the floor. Nasty!
Today I face life, one step at a time.”
Excerpt from Say Yes to Your Spirit– Father Leo Booth
Please come join us in The Matters of the Heart Codependency group on
Monday evenings– 7:00– 8:30 PM @ no cost
As of March 6th, Joe was officially granted
his CADC! A CADC is a Certified Alcohol
and Drug Counselor. Although Joe was
approved in May, he has been waiting on
his official paperwork.
Joe started at The Center as a volunteer
and was then promoted to a full time
volunteer intake coordinator, to then
become a paid staff member.
Joe has recently returned to school looking
to receive an Associates in Psychosocial
Rehabilitation.
We could not be prouder of Joe and all of
his hard work or more excited to see what
he chooses to do next!
“Congratulations Joe! I know how hard
you’re working in school. You truly deserve
everything that is good.” - Elaine
“Although he is humble, this deserves
recognition. Congrats Joe, CADC!” - Rachel
Ava Lamorte, CADC
Counselor
Drug Recognition Training
On Friday, February 27th the Coalition for Healthy & Safe Communities
hosted 145 law enforcement, EMTs and other first responders including
Haz-Mat, etc. at Sussex County Community College. There were
participants from all over the state of New Jersey in attendance with
about half from Sussex County. We thank Sgt. Adam Polhemus from the
NJSP ROIC for bringing this great program to our county! By
collaborating with the Sussex County Municipal Alliance, the Vernon
Coalition and other local stores we were able to provide breakfast and lunch to the participants.
Throughout the training, participants learned information about the Drug Monitoring Initiative of New Jersey’s Regional
Operations Intelligence Center from Sgt. Polhemus. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about Narcan: its
administration and the Overdose Protection Act and guidelines to address the statewide epidemic of opiates. Sussex
County Probation and the Narcotics Task Force presented current drug recognition information and awareness
surrounding local issues. A very informative presentation was conducted on
methamphetamine and the dangers of home-grown labs with an emphasis on critical
safety measures that responders must take when contending with these concerns.
Overall it was a great day for prevention, and the Coalition for Healthy & Safe
Communities hopes to assist in hosting this training again.
Jenn Boyle
Community and Prevention Educator
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
Page 6
April 2015
Pathways 2 Prosperity (P2) Envisions Greatness
P2 is a whirlwind of activity, learning and growth. This month, Path Leaders
(participants) began to visualize their futures in a very real way. Following a guided
meditation, Path Leaders created vision boards showcasing how they envision their
futures. A vision board is a visual representation or collage of the things you want
to have, be or do in your life. Their motivational vision boards
depict their goals such as returning to school, improving
employment and paying down debt.
The “Language of Higher Employment” segment of the P2
curriculum began this month as well. Facilitated by P2’s resident
career expert and Director of Career Services at St. Elizabeth
College, Teri Corso, Path Leaders are exploring skills necessary to
obtain or improve employment. They are attentively working on
actively exploring career options, resume development,
interviewing techniques and employment search skills. At the end
of this six week segment, Path Leaders will have updated resumes
and be expert interviewers ready to land a career!
The From Learning to Earning Project (FLE) teens are busy building employability and entrepreneurship skills. The teens
tackled communication skills, community analysis and began working on developing business plans as they map out
their microbusiness opportunity. The teens are diligently working on developing their viable business opportunity in
preparation for their pitch presentation. The teens will pitch their business plan to a panel of local entrepreneurs who will
vote for up to five ventures, each receiving up to $500 to kick start their business.
We are beyond excited to share that we just purchased the secondSTEP curriculum for Compadres, P2’s youth program.
We were able to purchase the evidence based curriculum with the funds received from the Atlantic Health Award.
Compadres focuses on social emotional learning which assists children in developing the skills needed to be successful
in community, home and school environments.
As the month ended, the P2 Girl Scouts learned about Fair Market Trade, had a badge ceremony and navigated a
successful cookie selling campaign. The Compadres Boys Club practiced healthy conflict management through the
Conflict Corner Radio Show Scenarios and Kelso’s Choice game. If you are interested in joining the P2 Initiative as a
participant or a volunteer just give us a call.
Dianna Morrison, CSW, CEPF, FSW
Brie Meade, MSW
Director, Pathways to Prosperity
Pathways Coach
Rainbows of Learning
At Rainbows, the preschoolers for the past couple of weeks have been working on how
to get exercise even though they can’t play outside yet. I brought large blocks, used as
dice, with exercises written on each side, and they got to roll them and perform the task
written on each, like wiggle while balancing on 1 foot or march and hop on 1 foot. The
children had fun. The children also worked on the felt board one day making felt faces
and talking about the faces they made, were they happy or sad and why. Most of the
children chose to make happy or funny faces. Just this past week we did an exercise that
had them cross their arms or legs across their bodies midline which encourages the left
hemisphere and right hemisphere of their brains to communicate and made it very
challenging to pass a ball while criss crossing their arms as well as trying to play head,
shoulders, knees and toes while crossing their arms to touch their head, shoulders,
etc. They did a great job and had a lot of fun with all of these activities.
Michele Leonard
Community and Prevention Educator
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
April 2015
Page 7
Coalition for Healthy and Safe Families News!
The Coalition for Healthy and Safe Communities recently revamped its logo and we
wanted to thank members for their input creating the new logo and for being a part of
this vital community-driven group!
Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse Reduction Efforts:
The coalition is once again encouraging a community effort and reminding friends, family and neighbors to “Spring Clean
Medicine Cabinets” on Saturday, April 25th. In Sussex County,
there are 7 locations in police stations to drop off unused, expired
or unwanted medications 24/7/365. The statewide campaign on
April 25th is a perfect reminder to help promote safe disposal of
medicines and to make sure others know that these drop-off sites
are available every day, year round. In the past four years, the
DEA was instrumental in hosting collection days twice yearly and
now, with 7 permanent disposal boxes installed, there are
opportunities for safe disposal during the entire year. http://
centerforprevention.org/pdf-files/
ProjectMedicineDropinSussexCountyFall2013.pdf
Help make a difference by spreading the word about the hazards
associated with leaving unwanted prescription drugs in places
where they can be misused. Let’s continue to be successful in
these efforts as this invariably is leading to a decrease in diversion
of these substances and, in turn, to the reduction of heroin use.
Share this announcement and flyer about the statewide
prescription drug disposal day on April 25th to help reduce Rx misuse and abuse.
Pharmacist Workshop:
On Sunday, April 26th, from 5:30-8:30pm, the Coalition will host a workshop for Sussex County pharmacists at Newton
Medical Center’s Romano Conference Center. The Coalition has been conducting these yearly pharmacist workshops
since 2009 where dinner, educational presentations and professional continuing education credits are provided. The
evening is a wonderful opportunity for our local pharmacists to come together and learn, collaborate and talk about
issues and solutions to the abuse and misuse of prescription medications.
Youth Tobacco Use Prevention:
Looking ahead, the Coalition will again be providing members with updated tobacco merchant
prevention tools. This work assists our local businesses that sell tobacco products to comply
with the law. Check out http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/ for more information on keeping youth
tobacco-free.
Marijuana: We want to Know!
Our state legalized marijuana for medicinal use. What does this mean? The
Center will be conducting a Lunch ‘n Learn on April 20th for the community to
help dispel the myths, update our knowledge and increase an understanding
of how to prevent youth marijuana use. Join us for an informative hour and
update what you know about a drug that is in the news nationwide every day. Read this article where Kevin Sabet of
www.learnaboutsam.org was recently interviewed.
http://www.vox.com/2015/3/20/8257631/kevin-sabet-marijuana-legalization
Parent Advice:
Don’t forget to go to www.parentadvicenj.org and send family, friends, clients, parents and
guardians there to update what they need to know about preventing underage drinking. We
can always learn something new about youth and substance use prevention! Thank you for your dedication.
Annmarie Shafer
Coordinator, Coalition for Healthy & Safe Communities
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities
61 Spring Street (3rd Floor)
Newton, NJ 07860
Phone: 973-383-4787
Fax: 973-383-6576
E-mail: [email protected]
We’re on the web!
www.centerforprevention.org
The Center Vision...
To develop the capacities of adults and children to sustain healthy
lifestyles by providing services designed to foster addiction-free lives,
emotional wellness, financial stability and safe communities
The Center Mission...
To promote hope, health and recovery among all people by fostering a
community in which individuals and families thrive.
The Center Strategies...
Use proven prevention strategies in all education program
Provide client-centered counseling
Network with other service providers
Be involved in the Sussex County community by maintaining active
committee memberships
Maintain an extensive Multimedia Resource Center
Provide ongoing staff education
Maintain a full range of no cost services through grant and foundation
funding, and to charge reasonable rates for services not funded by grants
Center for Prevention and Counseling
For more than 40 years dedicated to building healthy families and communities