2014 Annual Report.indd

Seaway Valley Prevention Council
“Improving the future of our community through quality prevention services.”
“A team that educates the community in living healthy lifestyles.”
Words for 2014
2014 Annual Report
Change
Partnership
Insanity
TEAM
Growth
Hope
Excessive
Accountability
Timely Basis
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Accomplishments and Highlights
“While people may be impressed by your achievements, they may be more INSPIRED by WHY you did them.”
- Lorrin L. Lee
• The Council’s Incredible Years program had 59 parents complete a multi week program.
• The Council’s Student Assistance program assessed 33 individuals and admitted 11 students into
prevention counseling.
• Council staff provided 757 community activities that reached approximately 37,105 individuals.
• Council staff presented 46 evidence-based prevention programs in 504 classroom presentations to
more than 1,068 youth in St. Lawrence County.
• Fifty percent of the fifth and sixth grade students in St. Lawrence County participated in prevention
programs offered by the Council.
• Council staff worked with the Community of Massena to develop and submit a federal Drug Free
Communities Grant application. The Massena Drug Free Community Coalition was awarded a
five-year $625,000 federal Drug Free Communities grant.
• Council staff actively participated on 3 local, 3 regional and 2 state level Coalitions and provider
groups.
• Council Director was requested to participate on a review committee for the New York State
Prevention Guidelines.
• The “Connections” summer program provided 60 St. Lawrence County Youth with job readiness
training skills.
• Co-hosted the 5th Annual St. Lawrence County Recovery Walk.
• Co-organized the Northern Tier Providers 17th Annual Conference in Lake Placid.
• Delivered 6 Job Readiness trainings for the St. Lawrence County Department of Social Services.
• Provided holiday activities for residence of Rose Hill Adolescent Facility.
• Provided holiday activities for residence of Hamilton Hall.
• Participated in the 2014 Ogdensburg Boys and Girls Club Expo.
• For the third year in a row, was awarded a Preventing Underage Gambling NY Lottery Assessment
and Outreach Project contract.
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SVPC SERVICES
Student Assistance/Project Success:
The Student Assistance/Project SUCCESS Program (SAP/PS) was implemented in Clifton Fine Central
School, Lisbon Central School, and Norwood Norfolk Central Districts in 2012. The Student Assistance
Program has transitioned to the SAMHSA model program Project SUCCESS. Project SUCCESS (Schools
Using Coordinated Community Efforts to Strengthen Students) prevents and reduces substance use among
high-risk, multi-problem students. Developed and tested with alternative school youth 14 to 18 years of age,
the program places Community Prevention Specialists in area schools to provide a full range of substance
use prevention and early intervention services. Counselors use a variety of intervention strategies,
including:
• Information dissemination
• Normative and preventative education
• Counseling and skills training
• Problem identification and referral
• Community-based processes
• Environmental approaches
In addition, Project SUCCESS links the school to the community’s continuum of care when necessary,
referring both students and families to the human services organizations, including substance abuse
treatment agencies.
As a whole, The SAP/PS team provided 55 individual sessions, 192 group sessions and 218 classroom
presentations. To help reinforce what is being discussed in the classroom and individual/group sessions, the
SAP/PS team does a variety of different activities throughout the school district. SAP/PS team members
also have the opportunity to put up bulletin boards in their schools. Examples of some of the topics they
cover are; Goal Setting, Peer Pressure, Alcohol Awareness and Healthy Living. The team also runs SADD
groups. The SAP/PS team also collaborates with other agencies to take on bigger projects. In the past,
we have collaborated with some of the following agencies; North Country Adolescent Outreach, SPORT
(Supporting Peers Options to Resist Tobacco), Planned Parenthood, Reality Check, as well as many others.
With the help of others, we are able to participate in bigger events within the school, such as; Red Ribbon
Week, Mock DWIs, Kick Butts Day, Spirit Week and Project Adventure.eam also runs SADD groups. The
SAP/PS team also collaborates with other agencies to take on bigger projects.
Drug Free Schools & The Extended School Day Program:
Students in first through eighth grade participating in the universal interventions “Too Good for Violence”
and “Too Good for Drugs” will demonstrate a 10% reduction in disruptive behaviors such as bullying,
acting out, and acts of aggression towards classmates in the classroom.
Evaluation and pre/post-tests by the teachers in the participating schools in St. Lawrence County reported
a significant decrease in discipline referrals which resulted in a decrease in disruptive behaviors in the
classroom.
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SVPC SERVICES
2014 Northern Employee Assistance Services:
This year, the Seaway Valley Prevention Council and the Jefferson County Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Council continued the partnership to offer employee assistance services to St. Lawrence County. The
mission of Northern Employee Assistance Services (NEAS) is to provide confidential accessible services
to employees, family members, and businesses in order to restore and strengthen health and productivity
in the workplace. Employees and their household members may use NEAS to help manage issues that
could adversely impact their work and personal lives. NEAS counselors typically provide assessment,
support, and if needed, referral to additional resources. NEAS offers many training opportunities for
employees. Trainings include such things as, Lunch and Learns, human resource trainings, and NEAS
orientations for new employees.
The issues for which NEAS provide support vary, but examples include:
• Concerns about aging parents
• Relationship Issues
• Alcohol/Substance Abuse
• Major Life Events
• Emotional Distress
• Grief
• Depression and Anxiety Challenges
• Stress and Emotional Issues
• Parenting Challenges
• Financial
• Legal
• Safe Working Environment
• Health Care Concerns
• Stress
• Family and Personal Concerns
• Aging Issues
• Conflict in the Workplace
Incredible Years Parenting Education Program:
The Incredible Years Parenting Program is based on the Social Learning Theory. The research
shows that behavior is learned and can be changed with knowledge and consistency. One of the
main focuses of this program is that in order to change the behavior of our children, we need to
change the behavior of the parent also.
The program is offered at flexible hours in a families own community. Sessions are one to one and one half
hour long and are attended weekly. Sessions are scheduled for eight to twenty week intervals depending on
family need, availability, and willingness to attend. Programs are provided in a group setting and also with
individual families.
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SVPC SERVICES
2014 Advancing Tobacco Free Communities
Advancing Tobacco Free Communities combines the Reality Check program (Reality Check is a teen
led, adult supported program working across New York State who aims to expose the manipulative and
deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry which actively exploits and markets a deadly and
addictive product to youth) and with a Community Engagement lead. This grant covers St. Lawrence,
Jefferson, and Lewis counties and focuses on four initiatives, Point of Sale, Smoke Free Media, Smoke
Free Multi-Unit Housing, and Tobacco-Free Outdoors.
Through community engagement and mobilization of adult advocates in combination with the youth led
Reality Check movement, Advancing Tobacco Free Communities strives towards denormalizing tobacco
use and through grassroots activities, media campaigns and political education works to produce changes
in our communities towards a tobacco-free society.communities. Educate local, state, regional or national
policy-makers about tobacco issues, and the implications of policy change.
2014 Gambling Prevention Services:
In 2014, the New York State Council on Problem Gambling (NYCP) partnered with the Seaway Valley
Prevention Council on the Parenting Focused Problem Gambling Education Project and the Youth Decide:
Media Literacy Project.
In an effort to prevent youth gambling involvement and reduce the risk of youth developing problem
gambling, parents of school aged youth will be targeted through public education and awareness efforts.
The NYCPG expanded the scope of the gambling efforts through the Youth Decide: Media Literacy Project.
The media Literacy Project targeted youth ages 12 -17 years old in an effort to get them to think critically of
advertising manipulation.
The following were the results of this project:
• 18 face to face education sessions conducted with 193 parents attending.
• Attended and/or helped sponsor ten area health fairs/festivals/fundraising events with
approximately 3,000 adults taking information on underage gambling.
• Radio and print ads along with social media reached over 400,000 residents.
The Council also participated in the statewide Youth Decide Poster Contest. Out of the three posters that
went to the statewide competition, one poster won BEST IN SHOW and another poster won CLEAREST
MESSAGE.
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SVPC SERVICES
Gouverneur Family Resource Center:
The Gouverneur Family Resource Center was opened September 1, 2004. The center is open
approximately 30 hours per week. Classes and special projects are held during other hours based on need.
Our targeted audience is families with children ages birth to five years old.
The Center is designed to be a safe community site. We offer a warm and inviting home atmosphere
where families can come not only in a time of need, but as a regular part of day-to-day life. The site
provides a warm, comfortable atmosphere where clients may relax and read to their child, share a cup of
coffee with a neighbor, or sip on a bowl of hot soup.
Cultivating Healthy Communities:
Cultivating Healthy Communities: A Coalition of St. Lawrence County strives to build partnerships
and promote collaborations which sustain a healthy, supportive community. The Coalition vision is that
youth in St. Lawrence County will be supported by a united community that fosters positive growth and
development. In 2011, Cultivating Healthy Communities was awarded a Strategic Prevention Framework,
State Incentive Grant (SPF-SIG) titled Prevention First-NY! that aimed to reduce underage drinking,
particularly in six target communities; Massena, Norwood-Norfolk, Lisbon, Morristown, Edwards-Knox,
and Colton-Pierrepont. For this grant project, Cultivating Healthy Communities partnered with Seaway
Valley Prevention Council, with the council being the fiscal agent for the project. The SPF-SIG grant was
awarded a six month extension, and the project was completed on December 31, 2014.
Massena Drug Free Community Coalition:
The Massena Drug Free Community Coalition was awarded a five-year $625,000 federal Drug Free
Communities grant. Seaway Valley Prevention Council is the fiscal agent for the project. This project aims
to reduce marijuana and prescription drug use among youth in Massena.
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FINANCIAL
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STATISTICS
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2015
Board Members:
Kristin Colarusso, President
Dawn Merz, Vice President
Margaret Dickinson, Treasurer
Esther Katz, Secretary
Angela Gray
Mary McGreevy
Claire Richardson
Amy Richardson
Rich Will
Nathan Wray
Staff Members:
Larry Calkins, Council Director
Raisha Wood, Business Manager
Kate Olmstead, Admin.Assistant
Prevention Specialists:
Patti Hogle
Ashley Frank
Jenny Pryce
Erin Owney
Chelsea Bartlett
Felicia Neahr
Elizabeth Billings
Jennifer Brown
Amber Baines
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SEAWAY VALLEY PREVENTION COUNCIL
206 Ford Street, Suite 301
Ogdensburg, NY 13669
Phone: 315-713-4861
Fax: 315-713-4508
Email: [email protected]
www.seawayvalleypreventioncouncil.net
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