HFM Prevention Council Volume 26, Issue 4 December 2014 2014 into 2015: Moving Forward As 2014 is drawing to a close, I look back at all of the accomplishments of the HFM Prevention Council during the past year. I am extremely grateful to our Board of Directors, to our staff, and to all of our community partners for their encouragement, support, and hard work. 2014 has brought new growth, new faces, new opportunities, and new successes to the Prevention Council. Our prevention educators; Yvonne, Margaret, Stephanie, Danielle, and Dorean have been welcomed to bring prevention programs into many area schools. Rachel and Dom did a fantastic job completing the SPF-SIG grant which ended in June. Rachel has accepted a position with the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, and we are lucky to be able to continue working with her in her new capacity. Dom has returned to work with us part time for a few months on the Four Rivers Alliance Mentoring Grant. 2014 brought the end of the VETCORPS/VISTA project. Jake Cummings, our first VETCORPS volunteer, traveled all the way from South Dakota to work with us for the benefit of our local veterans, military personnel, and their families. We were very lucky to have our second VETCORPS volunteer, Julianna Mendez. Julianna picked up where Jake left off, and worked diligently with our local veterans and military personnel and their families. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has discontinued the VETCORPS/VISTA Program. A highlight of our year was our Recovery Art Show and Recovery Wall at the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce Office/gallery in Gloversville during the month of September. We were very pleased this year to have much artwork from our friends in recovery and from local artists. The new and expanded Recovery Wall has a permanent home in our training room. Dave Hayes, a local artist and poet, won first prize at the NYS Recovery Fine Arts Show for one of his paintings. Dave was honored in a ceremony at the Hilton in Saratoga Springs. Congratulations, Dave!! In addition to ASAPP’s Promise, the Fulton County Community Coalition, we are honored to be working with the Four Rivers Alliance, which is the Hamilton County Community Coalition, and with Montgomery Allies in Prevention (MCAP), the Montgomery County Community Coalition. The basic goals of all three coalitions are to prevent underage alcohol and other substance use and to promote healthy life styles. I am grateful for the wonderful year which is soon coming to a close. I look ahead to 2015 with hope and anticipation for another year filled with new opportunities and new successes. All of the staff of the HFM Prevention Council wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season and a healthy, joyous new year!! ~ Ann Rhodes Executive Director Art & Recovery: A Winning Combination By Stephanie Cook Friends of Recovery - New York recently awarded David Hayes of Gloversville first prize for mixed media in their statewide Recovery Arts Festival. Hayes, who is well-known locally for his art and poetry chronicling his recovery from crack cocaine addiction, submitted “Can You See Me Now?” In this piece, a pair of eyes has been painted on a mirror, with a recent photo of Hayes in the pupil of one eye. In the pupil of the other eye, which is bloodshot, is a photo of Hayes from sixteen years ago, when his appearance showed clear and visible signs of the ravages of his then-active drug addiction. Above the eyes, the question reads, “Can You See Me Now?” According to Hayes, this question serves to ask people to look beyond his addiction and see who he is as a person today. He was presented with his award at a reception at the Hilton in Saratoga on October 19. Recovery Art Show September 2014 Clockwise from upper left: Artwork in a variety of media was contributed by our recovery partners, as well as by friends of HFM Prevention Council; an abstract ink drawing by Peter S.; a life-size ink drawing by Cory Spraker; community members enjoy the reception; wood-burning on a table by Amsterdam Mayor Ann Thane; Senator Cecilia Tkaczyk (left) and Ann Rhodes join Mayor Thane (center) in looking at her work; the Recovery Wall, on permanent display at HFM Prevention Council, has more than doubled in size since it was originally created in 2012. Page 2 HFM Prevention Council Coming in May 2015!! HFM Prevention Council Board of Directors PRESIDENT: Carm D’Amore VICE PRESIDENT: Judy Perry TREASURER: Thomas Ryan SECRETARY: Sara Luck EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT: Linda Jurica Volume 26, Issue 4 HFM Prevention Council Staff Doreen Ashabranner Ann Rhodes, Executive Director Francis Caraco Dominick Baggetta Margaret Clark Stephanie Cook Danielle DiGiacomo Linda Jurica Yvonne Major Dorean Page William Doran Jean Karutis Tom Romeyn Bryan Rudes Page 3 THE S E C I O H C M A R G O R P AN EXCITING THERAPEUTIC OPTION in ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE and MENTAL HEALTH Now available for teens in Montgomery and Fulton Counties 518.736.8188 Ext. 102 For a QUICK QUIZ (14 questions) on Holiday Traditions, go to: www.webmd.com/balance/rm-quiz-holiday-traditions Find out the meaning of the phrase “Auld Lang Syne” and learn what was the very first balloon character in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. While you’re visiting WebMD, check out their other great information on healthy living. Page 4 HFM Prevention Council YOU(th) DECIDE! By Yvonne Major Gambling is more prevalent Underage gambling is not According to the National now than ever before. The Council on Drug and safe. New York State Council on Dependence, about 48 Fulton County first place Problem Gambling is percent of seventh through winner of $100 is Rhys working with local Floyd; second place of $75 is twelfth graders reported Prevention Councils they had gambled in the Allison McDonald; and the statewide to educate people, third place winner of $50 is past year. Approximately especially parents of school- Paul Bush. These students 140,000 adolescents have age youth, about problem had problems due to are all in Mrs. Diane gambling and to encourage gambling and another ten Campos’s Health classes at them to discuss the percent are at risk. issue with their Steps parents can children. HFM take to educate their Prevention Council is children about offering parent problem gambling presentations for area include: school and community Explain that groups. gambling is an HFM Prevention occasional activity Council sponsored a meant for YOU(th) DECIDE entertainment only, Poster Contest in not as a way to conjunction with the make money. New York Council on From left, Yvonne Major of HFM Discuss the risks Problem Gambling. Prevention Council, winners Rhys Floyd, and possible The posters’ theme Allison McDonald, and Paul Bush, with negative confocused on the NY B-P Middle School Principal Wayne Bell. sequences Council’s facts about associated with Broadalbin-Perth Middle gambling. Topics included: engaging School and had the Good luck charms play no in gambling activities. administrative support of part in winning or losing. Mr. Wayne Bell, Principal. Discourage friends and Most people who gamble We appreciate their efforts family from giving Lottery lose. in helping to spread the tickets or engaging in Gambling can become an word about problem other forms of gambling addiction. gambling. with their children. See all the winning posters at: Get help or more information today: https://www.facebook.com/YouthDecideNY Volume 26, Issue 4 Page 5 CVS Stops Selling Tobacco 2014 Contributed by Stephanie Cook, with thanks to Reality Check Everyone deserves the opportunity to play, live and grow up in a healthy community. Key Message #1: Key Message #2: Key Message #3: Restricting the sale of tobacco in pharmacies helps reduce the consumption, availability, visibility and social acceptability of tobacco use in our local communities. Pharmacies are a trusted partner in healthcare and should not sell tobacco, the only legal product sold in America that when used as directed kills up to half of its long-term users. The CVS decision to stop selling tobacco is a call to action to communities to end tobacco sales at all pharmacies in New York State. Pharmacists and health professionals who overwhelmingly support a ban on pharmacy sales of tobacco products includes: the American Pharmacists Association; the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists,; the American Medical Association; and the American Academy of Pediatrics. The Pharmacist Society of the State of NY has passed a resolution supporting restricting the sale of tobacco in pharmacies. New Yorkers widely support prohibiting tobacco sales in pharmacies. In fact, 69 percent of residents of the Capital District think pharmacies should not sell tobacco, a figure consistent with averages in other parts of the state. Page 6 The United States is the only country in the world where tobacco products can be found for sale in a pharmacy. Pharmacies promote themselves as a trustworthy healthcare provider, yet over half of New York pharmacies sell tobacco including the large chains: Rite Aid, Walgreens and Duane Reade. Tobacco is the deadliest product sold in the U.S. and is responsible for the deaths of 23,600 New Yorkers every year. The availability of tobacco products in pharmacies legitimizes its use, and falsely suggests that pharmacists support tobacco consumption. As the role of pharmacies in the U.S. becomes more integral to the delivery of health care, the sale of tobacco in these facilities becomes a greater conflict of interest. Pharmacies cannot completely assume the role of “public health facilities” while encouraging the use of a product that is harmful to the public’s health. The sale of tobacco products at pharmacies creates a clear conflict of interest. Pharmacies should not profit from the sale of tobacco products and then profit from medicines to treat expensive and deadly illnesses caused by tobacco including heart disease, COPD, emphysema, and cancer. Thanks to CVS for leading the way in helping us to stay healthy! HFM Prevention Council December is Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Month , HFM Prevention Council, ASAPP’s Promise, and Montgomery County Allies for Prevention (MCAP). Volume 26, Issue 4 Page 7 86 Briggs St., Suite 5 Johnstown, NY 12095 Phone: 518.736.8188 Fax: 518.736.8192 www.hfmprevention council.com Please email [email protected] to receive your newsletter electronically. What’s inside this issue: Letter from the Executive Director: 2014 Into 2015 Front Cover Quick Quiz Link: Holiday Traditions 4 Art and Recovery: A Winning Combination 2 YOU(th) DECIDE! 5 Elks Drug Quiz Show May 2015 3 CVS Stops Selling Tobacco 2014 6 HFM Prevention Council Board of Directors 3 Lights On For Life 7 HFM Prevention Council Staff 3 The Choices Program 4 BEST WISHES FOR A HAPPY AND HEALTHY 2015!
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