Alcohol and Underage Drinking: What you need to know
There’s a lot of misinformation out there about alcohol and teens, and it can have serious consequences. Learning the facts can open your eyes to how alcohol really affects the developing brain, decision-making, and your teen’s future. Whether you’re starting the conversation, noticing a change, or just want to be prepared, Power to the Parent gives you the tools, truths, and tips you need to support your child with confidence. Read more here.
Thanksgiving – Holiday Mental Health Toolkit
Thanksgiving in the U.S. is a major holiday that can include time with family, chosen family or friends. It’s all food, family, and gratitude, things that you wouldn’t think are immediate stressors right? Well holidays can bring surges of emotions that strain on our mental health, especially when you add in complexities of relationship dynamics and combine traditions with others you are celebrating with. Here, we have some Thanksgiving-specific tips to build your mental health toolkit in order to help navigate the challenges that might arise during this popular holiday. Read more here.
Virtual Save A Life Wellness Fair
ASK’s virtual Save A Life Wellness Fair will connect you to resources that support Substance Misuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery; Mental Health and Opportunities for Thoughtful Service.
Click here to view the virtual Save A Life Wellness Fair and download the application on your phone. You never know when you, a friend, neighbor or loved one may need this vital information and by having it readily available it truly may be the most important gift you have ever given yourself or shared.
Life is hard, let’s be prepared to take good care of ourselves and one another.
Facts About Fentanyl
Wyatt’s Story: A Message on Fentanyl
With his big and shining personality, 23-year-old Wyatt Williamson lit up every room he entered. “Wyatt really didn’t know a stranger,” his mother, Julie Hofmans, said. “Everybody loved Wyatt. He was my best friend.” Wyatt tragically passed away at age 23 after taking a pill he thought was Xanax, but was actually laced with the powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl. By sharing Wyatt’s story, Julie hopes to save other families from tragedy and heartache. “Are you willing to take a chance with your life … to take a pill and you don’t know where it came from?”
Volunteer Opportunities
There are a variety of volunteer opportunities at awesome nonprofits throughout Westchester and Putnam Counties. To view these opportunities, please check out Volunteer New York!
The John C. Hart Memorial Library in Shrub Oak can always use some volunteers! To find out about their Teen Volunteer Program, click here.
Yorktown Leos Club
Leadership, Experience, Opportunity! The Yorktown Leos are a community service club for people ages 12-25 willing to help others in the community. They host and participate in a variety of fun and collaborative events. The Yorktown Leos Club has been helping the Yorktown community for over 25 years and to learn how to get involved, click here.
Weekly Spotlight Family Support Groups
From our partners at Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, weekly Spotlight Family Support Groups, held virtually every Tuesday and Wednesday via Zoom. Spotlight on Recovery is a Family Educational and Support Group for families struggling with a loved one misusing substances. For more information, click here.
Weekly Yoga for Resilience
Do you have a loved one struggling with addiction? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Carve out time for yourself so you may respond to your loved one with a clear mind and an open heart. Join us on Zoom and we will come together in a safe space to practice somatic mindfulness, grounding and centering, containment and breath regulation. For more information, click here.
Virtual Naloxone Training
Naloxone is a prescription medicine that reverses an overdose by blocking heroin or other opioids in the nervous system for 30-90 minutes. Naloxone is administered by injection or intranasal. Following training, participants receive a kit by mail. Presented by our partners at Drug Crisis in Our Backyard. Please inquire about setting up a virtual training by contacting Susan Salomone at: ssal@drugcrisisinourbackyard.com
Grief Support Group
A new group is starting that will deal with the strong feelings and emotions that parents have when they lose their child to a drug overdose. The group will be facilitated by Phyllis Eliott, LCSW who has experienced this loss herself. The meeting will take place in her office in Peekskill, date and time to be determined by those who sign up for the group. There will be no fee for this group. This will be a safe space where we can support each other as we deal with our grief. Please contact Phyllis at 845-234-3928.
Student Assistance Service Corner
“Helping Students Enhance Their Well Being by Making Healthy Decisions and Remaining Substance Free”
A partnership between a parent/guardian and Student Assistance Counselor best supports the nurturing of the social and emotional wellbeing of students. We encourage you to contact the SAC at your child’s school for a confidential consultation. Click here to learn more.
| Lakeland High School Sasha Meyer Porco, LMSW, CASAC smeyerporco@lakelandschools.org | Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School Ms. Finan, MS lfinan@lakelandschools.org | Yorktown High School Kiara Loughran, MS sacounselor@yorktown.org |
Upcoming Events
November 4 – Mind Over Media: Supporting Kids’ Mental Health & Behavior Online
Kids face constant screen time and social media pressures, shaping emotions, behavior, and mental health. Join Dr. Dave Anderson of the Child Mind Institute for a practical talk on guiding kids in the digital world. Learn how screen use affects youth, how to set limits, and strategies to build resilience for healthier, more balanced lives online and off. Register here.
November 5 – Parents at the Heart of Change: Advocacy That Endures
Join PAVe, Parents Against Vaping e-cigs, for a timely, hopeful conversation on how parent-driven advocacy endures during times of uncertainty. As tobacco prevention and control programs shift, departments close, and priorities change, many advocates ask: what now? During times of change, our creativity, compassion, and collective resolve are what keep progress alive. Register here.
November 19 – Town Hall: Supporting Teens & Young Adults Facing Mental Health & Substance Challenges
Join us for a parent-focused panel discussion exploring the challenges of mental health and substance use occurring together in adolescents and young adults. Our panel will share practical ways to recognize when a young person might need help, how to offer support at home, and what local resources are available to families in our community. For more information, click here.
November 26 – Understanding Family Reactions to Mental Illness
Understanding why people experience things differently can help to ease tension & increase acceptance. Discuss the caregiving experience, the stages of emotional response, and learn how to respond and cope in this one-hour seminar with a licensed therapist. Register here.
December 2 – GivingTuesday
ASK provides a safety net that supports a healthy lifestyle for our youth and families. ASK’s mission is to connect the community to important resources that promote Youth Mental Health; Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery; and Opportunities for Thoughtful Service.
As the fiscal sponsor for Drug Crisis in Our Backyard, ASK supports their mission to bring awareness of the rampant abuse of prescription and illegal drugs in our community; bring recognition that substance misuse is a chronic disease; and to assist individuals and their families who are struggling with the effects of substance use in a friend or loved one.
Your donation will not only support the ongoing connections between the community and potentially lifesaving resources, but will allow for important programs to continue.
NAMI Westchester
The families and members of NAMI Westchester are here to help! They offer understanding to anyone concerned about mental illnesses and the treatment of mental illness. To view their calendar, click here.
Westchester Breathes is an ongoing program offered by the Westchester Library System offering an experience of gentle movement, breathing and relaxation exercises that reduce stress and anxiety and increase a sense of calm and well-being. These exercises are simple and evidence-based – which is to say …they work! They are free and on Zoom. Register here.