By Broadreach Family & Community Services
Mar 08, 2010 Once again, Broadreach Family & Community Services and RSU 20’s 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program are working together to provide the program Guiding Good Choices to parents of 4th to 8th graders, 9 to 14 year olds. Parents who participate will have a chance to win a $25 gift card and if completing all 5 sessions of the program, a chance to win a $100 gift card to reward them for their participation.
Guiding Good Choices has been presented in many communities across the country and research has demonstrated that participating parents experience improved success in keeping their children drug and alcohol free. The program focuses on building family strengths and reducing risk factors that could make substance abuse by youth more likely. Children whose parents have completed the program have shown a 40% reduction in alcohol and marijuana use; a 54% reduction in the progression to use more serious substances; and a 26% increase in the likelihood that non-users will continue to remain drug free. But to be clear, this is a prevention program and not the best choice for parents whose son or daughter is currently using and in need of treatment.
This free five-session program will be offered at two sites and will meet weekly beginning on March 24th at Searsport District Middle School and on March 30th at Troy Howard Middle School. Sessions will begin at 6 pm and end at 8:15. Childcare and food will be provided. All parents are invited to participate, but preference in registration will be given to families whose children are enrolled in RSU 20.
Grant funds from the 21st Century Community Learning Center grant program and the Maine Children’s Trust make it possible to offer this program at no cost to parents. Sessions will be led by Patrick Walsh a parent educator from Broadreach and Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator for Healthy Waldo County. To register or for more information contact Walsh at Broadreach, 338-2200 ext 109 or by e-mail at pwalsh@brmaine.org.
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Youthlinks/RASA and our very own Caitlin Schick make the front cover of the March 2010 Down East Dog News.
Run-A-Hound Outing Club is a nine week program in which students from Rockland High volunteer to run with shelter dogs. The program is geared for students who are not involved in sports or fitness routines and provides social/emotional bonding with homeless dogs. Students receive community service credit for their time, a requirement for graduation. Well structured civic coordination and corporate funding is successfully pushing Run-A-Hound towards year-round operation.
Caitlin Schick is the Program Manager at Youthlinks, a division of Broadreach Family & Community Services located in Rockland. Through the Rockland After-School Alliance, she develops opportunities for kids ages 11-17 to do community service and take part in recreational activities. Currently, Schick is directly responsible for operating the Run-AHound program. She meets with the humane society staff during the week to discuss which dogs are available for the run. On the day of the run, she picks up the dogs at the shelter and heads to the school to acquaint everyone. After loading six students and three dogs in the van they head off to the day’s location; she distributes equipment and leads the run.
The full story with pictures is at http://www.bluetoad.com/publication/?m=1134&l=1
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A group of local middle-school students recently completed an after-school program run by Youthlinks, called “Animal Care Team”. This has long been one of Youthlinks most popular after-school programs in the Rockland area, but this was the first time the program was offered in Waldo County. Youthlinks partnered with Blake Veterinary Hospital in Northport to run this program. After touring the veterinary facility and asking questions of the office staff, the kids began socializing with Dakota, Kasey and Emma -cats who currently live at Blake Vet as they await adoption. The students made catnip toys for their new four-legged friends and conducted behavioral observations on each cat. Through the observation exercise, they were able to collect information and photos for writing an adoption ad for each cat. On the last day of the program, the finished adoption advertisements were given to the Blake Vet office staff to post at their office, and some were posted on the Belfast Co-op’s community bulletin board as well. The students hope that their ads will raise awareness about Dakota, Kasey, and Emma, ultimately helping them find homes. Collaborations such as the one with Blake Vet truly enhance Youthlinks’ programming and provide a wealth of opportunities for students to learn while giving something back to their community. For more information about these cats and other animals available for adoption through Blake Vet, please call 207-789-5700.
In addition to working with Blake Vet, students in the Animal Care Team program spent two weeks volunteering at the Camden Rockport Animal Rescue League. The group also enjoyed a fieldtrip to the Good Karma Farm in Belfast, where they met some alpacas, llamas, and sheep, while also getting a first-hand look at the processes of yarn and soap-making. The Animal Care Team program exists to enhance youth awareness about proper care and treatment of animals, pet overpopulation issues, and to foster a sense of empathy toward animals. This six-week after-school program is just one of many exciting opportunities offered by Youthlinks. Youthlinks is currently running “Global Chefs”, an international cooking class at the Troy Howard Middle School, and will be taking registrations for the spring session in the coming weeks.
Youthlinks is a program of Broadreach Family & Community Services located in Rockland that provides community service, leadership and enrichment opportunities to all youth ages 11-17 from anywhere in mid-coast Maine. These programs help youth learn skills, build self-esteem, cultivate social responsibility, develop leadership abilities and connect to their peers, to adult mentors, and to their communities. Youthlinks is funded primarily by state grants and the generous donations of individuals, businesses, and foundations. All Youthlinks programs are free for participating youth. For more information, visit www.youthlinksonline.org, or call 207-594-2221.
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A benefit for Youthlinks and Midcoast Children’s Services.
I Pity the Fool ’8Os DANCE PARTY
featuring Portland-based band The Awesome
Prizes for ‘8Os Best Outfit, Hair and Moves
Raffle, Dancing, Cash Bar for ages 21+
Thursday April 1, 2010
Doors Open at 7 PM – Tickets $20 per person
Lincoln Street Center Gym
22 Lincoln Street, Rockland
For More information call 594-2221
A Poster with details is at http://broadreachmaine.org/fool.htm
Sponsored in part by Cafe Miranda and Central Distributors, Inc.
Midcoast Children’s Services and Youthlinks are divisions of Broadreach Family & Community Services
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By Broadreach Family & Community Services
Feb 22, 2010 -
For the last 11 years, Broadreach Family & Community Services has been providing a valuable education program called “Kids First” to parents experiencing separation, divorce or child custody conflicts. A one-time, four-hour program held on a Saturday morning provides parents with some valuable information about the effects of adult conflict on their children. Experienced male-female teams who have professional backgrounds in education and mental health counseling, and who have personal experience with family conflict, present the classes.
As one recent participant said in their evaluation at the end of the class, “I think that we will be able to work on our problems and deal with them in a well behaved manner”. Another parent offered “I need to let go. My child in the end is the one who gets hurt the most”.
Most parents come to the program as a result of a strong recommendation or an order from the Court where action related to the family is being discussed. One parent summed up the feeling of many parents, saying “I’m very glad that it was mandatory; I enjoyed the program”. Parents who want to attend voluntarily and who may not have yet filed for divorce or custody, can benefit from the program, have the opportunity to ask questions and to learn from the experience of others.
The Kids First curriculum was developed by the Kids First Center in Portland and Broadreach operates its program through an agreement with them. Each class participant receives a parent handbook that outlines the research and philosophy used in developing the curriculum. Most of that research was conducted by Dr. Judith Wallerstein and colleagues in California who had a long history of providing family counseling in divorce cases. The researchers followed those families periodically over a more than 25 year period and published their findings in installments covering 5 year periods. The most recent book is titled the “Unexpected Legacy of Divorce”, published in 2000.
Some financial support for the program comes from the Family Division of Maine’s Administrative Office of the Courts, and this support makes it possible to offer partial scholarships to parents who qualify as a result of low income.
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News from our Early Childhood Inclusive Program and PreK programs will be here.
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Watch here for news about Youthlinks and other teen related issues.
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Watch here for news about our work with Literacy Volunteers!
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