Northland Coalition

Youth With Vision (YWV), a group of dedicated Northland high school students from Clay, Platte and Ray counties, are working hard to make a positive impact on those statistics and create drug-free communities for future generations. While these young volunteers have the support of Tri-County Mental Health Services, they also depend on the generosity of their communities for funding, and their most important fundraiser – “Mud Mania” – is just around the corner.

The mud volleyball competition, designed to raise community awareness of Youth With Vision’s efforts to reduce alcohol and drug abuse in the community, will be held June 23 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Kelsey Short Area #4 at Smithville Lake in Smithville, Mo.

Since the event has grown in popularity each year, pre-registration of teams is encouraged, but not required. The pre-registration entry fee is $10 per player. Registration on the day of the event will be $12 per person. Teams of six to nine male and/or female players will compete for first, second and third place prizes. Additionally, Youth With Vision will be accepting court sponsorships for $100 (silver level) and $200 (gold level).

For more information about YWV or to download a team registration form visit www.youthwithvisionkc.org.

It’s once again time for the Girl Power Leadership Academy! Girl Power is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, “Safe Passages” initiative designed to support children through the stormy years of adolescence.  The Girl Power campaign is unique because it addresses the important issues in girls’ lives today, with an overall goal of increasing self-esteem and positive life choices by instilling self-confidence and resilience in young women.

Tri-County Mental Health Services is sponsoring a Girl Power Leadership Academy, March 30^th – 31^st at New Hope Camp, in Holt, Missouri. This Leadership Academy is an exciting two-day event designed to teach young women, grades 6-8, how to address issues within themselves, their schools and their communities.  Girl Power Leadership Academy workshops and small groups will include: resolving conflict, bullying, self-esteem, self defense, substance abuse prevention and effective communication. These topics will be approached in a fun, open atmosphere.

This year we will be bringing back a feature of Girl Power that was extremely successful for schools in previous years. Participants will be encouraged to utilize the skills learned during the Leadership Academy to implement a leadership program or event at their individual schools, such as creating a banner that students would sign pledging to take a stand against bullying, encouraging their peers to sit with students in the lunchroom who are all alone, or recruiting someone to teach a self-defense workshop in their health or PE class. This “sharing of skills” then allows a greater population of students to be impacted. Staff from Tri-County Mental Health will provide technical assistance to the students; however we are asking students to have a school sponsor sign their applications, agreeing to provide additional assistance in this project if needed.

Student registration forms and parental consent forms should be filled out completely, signed and returned by Friday, March 23^rd, 2012. There is a $30 registration cost per student which covers camp materials, snacks and breakfast on Saturday. A limited number of scholarships are available. Please contact Elise Bennett at (816) 877-0496 or eliseb@tri-countymhs.org

Registration Forms can be printed HERE.

   The notion that teenagers will drink alcohol regardless of barriers put in place by their parents is common. On a recent anonymous community survey of parents living in Clay, Platte and Ray counties, more than 16% of participants indicated they would serve alcohol to their children in their homes because “their children would do it anyways.” Not only is this belief untrue, it is damaging to the perceptions teens form about the safety of underage drinking. Researchers have found that parental disapproval can be a powerful force to keep teens from succumbing to the impulse to drink. 43% of parents taking the survey indicated they did not expect or believe their child to stay alcohol free until 21. How, then, can we be surprised when nearly 39% of all high school students have already drank alcohol? There’s abundant evidence that the longer teenagers can delay drinking, the less likely they are to have problems with alcohol as adults. Teen drinking also increases the risk of unsafe sex, drunk driving and other hazardous behaviors.

To give parents the tools and resources to talk to their children about underage drinking, the Northland Coalition and local community coalitions are implementing a new campaign entitled “Parent Up.” This campaign encourages adults to use  their influence as parents to set high expectations for their children about alcohol and other drug use.  The new website, ParentUpKC.com, is packed full of information and tools for parents to use as they address underage drinking with their children.  You can also follow @parentup on twitter for daily tips and reminders to continue the conversation. The Northland Coalition and the local substance abuse prevention teams in your area are invested in helping parents protect the precious youth of our community. Let’s start talking.

Help distribute the 2012 Parent Up campaign!  Download the Media Toolkit or visit our Campaign Page for messages.

National Prevention Weekis a new annual health observance supported by SAMHSA that celebrates the work that community organizations and individuals do year-round to prevent substance abuse and promote mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being.

National Prevention Week will take place May 20-26, 2012 and this year’s theme is We are the ones. How are you taking action?

Click here and take the Prevention Pledge!

PRESS RELEASE taken from http://kcpdchief.blogspot.com/2012/01/police-bust-northland-businesses.html:

Kansas City Police and other law enforcement agencies busted two Northland businesses today for selling synthetic narcotics.

Officers with the Synthetic Drug Task Force served search warrants at Discount Smokes at 2518 NE Vivion Road and the Shell Station at Vivion and Antioch roads. They arrested store employees and recovered synthetic drugs such as “plant food,” “syn,” “K2,” and “bath salts.”

Police recovered approximately 1,100 grams of suspected synthetic drugs, several thousand dollars worth of drug paraphernalia and a loaded firearm. Four people were arrested and face multiple charges for the sale of controlled substances.

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Members of Youth With Vision (YWV) hosted a luncheon Oct. 28 for legislators and community leaders. The informational meeting provided an opportunity for YWV members to present data on issues they have deemed priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

The luncheon was held in the community room of Zona Rosa, 8600 Dixson Ave., Kansas City, Mo. The theme of the event was “Show Me Prevention,” conveying the need for preventative efforts to be community-led and statewide.

The meeting opened with an interactive quiz between the young people and attendees regarding the legislative issues YWV has set as their priorities for the year. A question and answer period then preceded the luncheon.

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Prescription drug disposal boxes have been installed at local police departments across the Northland (see locations below).  We know that in 2010, one in ten Missouri youth abused prescription drugs, so it is important to do as much as we can to make these kinds of substances less available.  Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, especially from the home medicine cabinet.  Proper disposal of medications has long been a difficult problem for Missourians. Flushing them pollutes the water supply. Throwing them in the trash makes them an easy target, not only for thieves, but for pets and wildlife. Also, due to regulations, pharmacists are not allowed to take medications back once they are dispensed.

Simply drop your unused or unwanted medications in the marked receptacle in the lobby and the police department will incinerate them per government recommendations. All drugs dropped in the boxes are completely anonymous.  The Northland Coalition is very thankful for the commitment and time of each of these local stations. Keep reading for locations

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More than 150 area high school students had the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills through workshops and group learning at the September 16, 2011 Northland Youth Leadership Summit. Students chose from five different workshops to attend during each of the sessions, and all students and their school sponsors participated in the Key Note presentations together. Speakers included Cara Filler, founder of the “Drive to Save Lives Tour,” Blair Kerkhoff, sports writer at the Kansas City Star, ThinkFirst, William Jewell College Tucker Leadership Lab, Amy Tuso, Liberty School District Prevention Coordinator, Coach Roger Stirtz, Liberty High School Basketball Coach, Al Babich, creator of “My Gray Matters,” Diane Beal, specialist with the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project, and TSgt. Jason Henke with the National Guard. The goal of the Norhtland Youth Leaderhip Summit was to arm youth with the tools to make a positive impact on their student body and in their community.