Parents and Teens Turn Out for Town Hall Meeting at Drew University

Around 100 parents and teens from Morris County attended a town hall meeting on underage drinking on March 31 at Drew University. Keynote speaker Dr. Walter Rosenfeld, Chairman of Pediatrics at Goryeb Children's Hospital, provided an overview of the problem of youth alcohol use and touched on effective parenting strategies. The meeting featured a panel of experts who provided information on a variety of topics including legal consequences of underage drinking, effects of alcohol use on the teen brain, and the "40 Developmental Assets" essential to youth success. The audience also heard from a parent and a teen who discussed parenting, communication styles and substance use. The event was made possible through a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). MCPIK and several community partners worked together to organize the meeting, including Community Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Morris (CCSHM), Morris County Partners in Substance Abuse Prevention, Morristown Memorial Hospital, Goryeb Children's Hospital, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

2010 DFC Application Submitted!

In March, MCPIK and the Community Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Morris (CCSHM) submitted an application for federal funding from the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. The DFC Program was started as a result of the passage of the Drug Free Communities Act of 1997. Since its inception, the program has funded more than 1,600 community coalitions addressing youth substance use. For more information about Drug Free Communities, visit http://www.ondcp.gov/DFC/. Pictured above are Michelle Toon, CCSHM Coordinator, and Melody Runyon, Financial Manager, with the completed application boxed & ready for shipping.

MCPIK Staff Attend CADCA 2010 National Leadership Forum

Michelle Toon, CCSHM Coordinator with DFC Administrator

Jack Claypoole at Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America

(CADCA) National Leadership forum in Washington, DC

Representatives of the Community Coalition for a Safe and Healthy Morris (CCSHM), a group focusing on youth substance abuse issues, attended the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) National Leadership Forum in Washington, DC, February 8 through 12. CADCA provides training for coalitions on how to impact youth substance abuse through community-wide change. CADCA also works closely with the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to provide competitive grant funds for community-based coalitions through the Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program.

CCSHM is comprised of a group of community members working together to reduce substance abuse among youth in Morris County. CCSHM needs the involvement of community members to help implement strategies to change attitudes and availability of drugs. The next CCSHM meeting is 9:00am, Wednesday, April 7th at The Randolph Municipal Building, Conference Room A&B, 502 Millbrooke Avenue in Randolph, NJ. Meetings are open to ALL Morris County residents...join us to make a difference!

Get WISE About Healthy Aging

There's no substance or fountain of youth than can actually extend life, but chances of remaining healthy and improving longevity are within everyone's power to control. Up to a certain age - usually mid to late thirties - many people reject the notion of aging. Then comes a point when we realize it's actually happening, and then reality sets in - your children are having their own baies and you're wondering where DID the time go?! This has been referred to as the "3 Rs" of aging...Rejection, Realization, Reality.

MCPIK is the proud recipient of a Faith-Based Initiatives grant to present the award winning WISE (Wellness Initiative for Senior Education) Program, which will help with the reality of aging, help you make the right choices to live a long, healthy, happy life, and provide some simple tools to feel empowered about your health. Four of these compelling programs will be presented this year, all FREE to the 60+ Morris County Community.

The WISE presentations cover a wide range of topics of interest to seniors, as well as an opportunity to meet other seniors in the community. Some of the topics covered....

• The aging process and making healthy lifestyle choices
• Celebrating stage of life and benefits that come only with age
• Risk factors and behaviors to avoid in order to stay healthy
• The effect of alcohol, prescription and OTC meds
• Using simple tools to feel empowered about your health
  

We haven't got a firm date as of this writing, but we anticipate scheduling the first of the four programs in early February. Details will be in local papers and in this newsletter. Contact Barbara Kauffman at MCPIK for more information...973-625-1998 or info@MCPIK.org.

MCPIK Awarded F.M. Kirby Foundation Grant

Christopher Goeke, Executive Director of Morris County Prevention is Key (MCPIK) is pleased to announce that MCPIK is the proud recipient of a grant from the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc. in the amount of $12,500. The grant is intended for general operating support of the agency.

The F.M. Kirby Foundation, based in Morristown, NJ, each year recognizes a limited number of especially deserving health, educational, cultural, religious and other charitable organizations whose programs are reflective of important contemporary problems in our society. The Foundation favors programs encouraging people to solve their own problems without government aid.

Morris County Prevention is Key is a community focused non-profit organization providing prevention education programs, professional development training, advocacy, information and referral, and the county’s most extensive resource center with current materials that address substance abuse and other emerging issues of concern to the Morris County Community. MCPIK can always use a helping hand, so contact them if you’re interested in volunteering to help make a difference in your community. They are located at 25 West Main Street, Rockaway, NJ 07866. Contact them at 973-625-1998; send email to info@mcpik.org or log on to www.mcpik.org.