A video for parents produced by the Norfolk DA’s Office

A short video for parents produced by the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.

Below is the posting.

STOUGHTON YOUTH COMMISSION:    Leadership & Civic Engagement Fellow

Massachusetts Promise Fellows deliver the resources that young people need to be successful in life by mobilizing and organizing community activity, creating and leading powerful initiatives, and training and inspiring citizen volunteers.

The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship achieves this by placing Fellows with non-profit organizations and state/local government agencies that focus on fulfilling the needs of our youth by providing; a caring adult, a safe place, a healthy start, an effective education, and an opportunity to give back.

Service Description

The Stoughton Youth Commission (SYC) is a town-funded human services agency with a mission to provide easily accessible, high-quality mental health services and community outreach to youth and their families who live in Stoughton, without regard to income, insurance status, culture or social circumstances.  Our purpose is to strengthen youth and families, and establish crucial relationships within the community that foster respect for all.  The Fellow at SYC will cultivate youth leaders by engaging Stoughton High School students in an out-of-school Youth Leadership Institute (YLI).  The goals of the project are: 1) to provide Stoughton youth with the opportunity to develop leadership skills to enhance their social and emotional growth and 2) to develop a cohort of youth with strong civic skills to serve as public health leaders in the community 3) develop senior leadership roles for past graduates of the YLI.

Essential Responsibilities

• Research and identify best practices in youth civic engagement and leadership curricula
• Refine and implement an 8 month culturally competent curricula, including lesson plans for weekly sessions and service learning components that will benefit 2 local public health initiatives
• Develop a companion curriculum and opportunities to engage YLI graduates as mentors in the program
• Work with senior YLI members to develop a recruitment strategy for 9-11 graders
• Identify and recruit 15-20 youth participants
• Mentor participating youth and senior leaders
• Implement weekly lessons
• Collaborate with SYC partners
• Manage social media and website for communication and program recognition
• Develop and implement a program evaluation
• Travel at least once/month for Fellowship meetings, retreats, and training throughout the Commonwealth

Qualifications

• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• The ability to work independently
• An interest in national and community service
• Experience working with youth
• The desire to work with diverse constituencies
• Flexibility and a sense of humor
• Must have regular access to a car
• Ability to serve some evenings and weekends (flexible schedule)
• BA / BS preferred
• Must be willing to comply with a criminal background check and FBI fingerprint check
• Must be a US Resident, US National or Permanent Resident Alien

Benefits

For a one year full-time commitment and 1700 hours of AmeriCorps service Fellows receive:

A taxable living allowance of $269/week ♦ Comprehensive health care benefits ♦

Excellent training opportunities ♦ FREE courses at Northeastern University in the College of Professional Studies ♦ Loan forbearance and a $5,550 educational award

Contact Information

Apply ASAP! Applicants are hired on a rolling basis.  Send a letter of interest, resume and contact info for three references ASAP and before May 24^th, 2013 preferably electronically to:

Stephanie Patton, Stoughton Youth Commission, 110 Rockland Street, Stoughton, MA 02072

Email: spatton@stoughton-ma.gov

More Info

• Interviews will take place in April and May of 2013
• Hiring decisions will be made on or before June 14^th, 2013
• Program start date is August 2013
• Visit www.masspromisefellows.org for detailed program information

The Massachusetts Promise Fellowship is committed to providing equal opportunities. We serve and partner with diverse organizations, and are dedicated to non-discrimination. It is our policy to ensure that all individuals with whom we are in contact are treated without regard to age, color, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or expression, or veteran status. We require that all our partners make reasonable accommodations for any and all individuals with a permanent or temporary disability. We actively partner with organizations representing minority concerns and interests to build high-performing teams that mirror the communities we serve.

On 2/14/2013 OASIS went to visit several OMS classrooms that had been reading “The Boy Who Drank Too Much”. We shared some local stats and brought a young man who was in recovery from drugs and alcohol to speak to the students.

They were fantastic, asked some really great questions and followed up with some amazing thank you notes.

Here a few we wanted to share.

This year the event will be held at the Stoughton High cafeteria from 7-8:30pm.

Parents review the prom contract at the 2012 Safe Prom Event.

Once again there will be a vendor fair, a fashion show, some brief speakers on having a safe prom night and an opportunity to sign the prom contracts.

For safe prom resources, click HERE.

Students model the latest prom styles at the 2012 Safe Prom Event

Prom is an exciting time and one of the many celebrations as your child transitions out of high school. It can also be a risky time for alcohol and other drug use.  It is important to talk to your teen and be clear about your rules and expectations.

OASIS is here to help.  OASIS and Stoughton High have collaborated on a Safe Prom Contract which is required of all students attending the prom.  Prior to purchasing a ticket, the student and their parent must both sign the contract in the presence of an OASIS member or school official. In keeping with the fun spirit of Prom, OASIS, Stoughton High School and many local businesses collaborate annually on a safe prom event which includes a prom vendor fair and fashion show starring SHS seniors.

Some of the Safe Prom Resources are available here.

This is a sample of the 2013 Prom Contract

A list of tips for prom night and other special events with your senior.

Tips for talking to your teen about drugs and alcohol.

Published January 2, 2012, Stoughton Patch

Conversations are one of the most powerful tools parents can use to connect with — and protect — their kids. But, when tackling some of life’s tougher topics, especially those about drugs and alcohol, just figuring out what to say can be a challenge.

The following scripts will help you get conversations going with your child — and keep them going throughout his or her life.

High School

* Scenario

Your teen is starting high school — and you want to remind him that he doesn’t have to give in to peer pressure to drink or use drugs.

* What to Say

You must be so excited about starting high school… it’s going to be a ton of fun, and we want you to have a great time. But we also know there’s going to be some pressure to start drinking, smoking pot or taking other drugs.

A lot of people feel like this is just what high school kids do. But not all high school kids drink! Many don’t, which means it won’t make you weird to choose not to drink, either. You can still have a lot of fun if you don’t drink.

You’ll have a lot of decisions to make about what you want to do in high school and you might even make some mistakes. Just know that you can talk to us about anything – even if you DO make a mistake. We won’t freak out. We want you to count on us to help you make smart decisions and stay safe, okay?

—

* Scenario

Every time you ask your teen how his day was, you get a mumbled, “Whatever, it was okay,” in return.

* What to Say

Skip asking general questions like “How’s school?” every day. Instead, ask more specific questions on topics that interest both you and your teen (“Tell me about the pep rally yesterday.” or “Are there a lot of cliques in your school?” or “Fill me in on your Chemistry lab test.”)

You can also use humor and even some gentle sarcasm to get the conversation flowing. Try, “Oh, what a joy it is to live with a brooding teenager!” to make your child laugh and start opening up a bit.

—

* Scenario

Your high-schooler comes home smelling of alcohol or cigarette smoke for the first time.

* What to Say

“The response should be measured, quiet and serious—not yelling, shouting or overly emotional,” says parenting expert Marybeth Hicks. “Your child should realize that this isn’t just a frustrating moment like when he doesn’t do a chore you asked for; it’s very big, very important, and very serious.”

Say, “I’m really upset that you’re smoking/drinking. I need to get a handle on how often this has been happening and what your experiences have been so far. I get that you’re worried about being in trouble, but the worst part of that moment is over – I know that you’re experimenting. The best thing you can do now is really be straight with me, so for starters, tell me about what happened tonight…”

—

* Scenario

Your teen has started to hang out with kids you don’t know — and dropped his old friends.

* What to Say

It seems like you are hanging with a different crowd than you have in the past. Is something up with your usual friends? Is there a problem with [old friends’ names] or are you just branching out and meeting some new kids? Tell me about your new friends. What are they like? What do they like to do? What do you like about them?

Published December 5, 2011, Stoughton Patch

Conversations are one of the most powerful tools parents can use to connect with — and protect — their kids.

But, when tackling some of life’s tougher topics, especially those about drugs and alcohol, just figuring out what to say can be a challenge. The following scripts will help you get conversations going with your child — and keep them going throughout his or her life.

Elementary School

* Scenario

Your child tells you he was offered prescription drugs by a classmate — but said no.

* What to Say

After praising your child for making a good choice and for telling you about it, let him know that in the future, he can always blame you to get out of a bad situation. Say, “If you’re ever offered drugs at school, tell that person, ‘My mother would ground me if I took that and then she wouldn’t let me play baseball.’”

—

* Scenario

Your grade-schooler comes home reeking of cigarette smoke.

* What to Say

I know you’re curious and you wanted to see what smoking was like, but as you can see, it’s pretty disgusting and it probably made you cough and gag a lot. Your clothes and your breath and your hair all stink. Is that how you want to be known? As the kid who stinks?

—

* Scenario

Your child has expressed curiosity about the pills she sees you take every day — and the other bottles in the medicine cabinet.

* What to Say

Just because it’s in a family’s medicine cabinet doesn’t mean that it is safe for you to take. Even if your friends say it’s okay, say, “No, my parents won’t let me take something that doesn’t have my name on the bottle.”

—

* Scenario

One in five teens in America has tried huffing—inhaling the fumes from everyday items like nail polish remover, hair spray, and cooking spray. It’s probably been a while since you’ve talked to your child about the dangers of the products under the kitchen sink—but it’s important to reiterate the warning.

* What to Say

I know it’s been a while since I talked to you about the dangers of cleaning products and that they should only be used for cleaning. But I’ve heard that some kids are using them to get high.

I just want to let you know that even if your friends say, “Hey, we can buy this stuff at the supermarket so it’s totally okay to sniff it,” it’s not.

Inhaling fumes from cleaners or products like cooking spray and nail polish remover is as dangerous as doing all the drugs we’ve talked about, like marijuana.

Now, let’s talk about ways you can get out of the situation if that happens. What do you think you should say? Remember, you can always blame me and say, “My mom would ground me if I tried that!”

Published December 9, 2011, Stoughton Patch

Conversations are one of the most powerful tools parents can use to connect with — and protect — their kids. But, when tackling some of life’s tougher topics, especially those about drugs and alcohol, just figuring out what to say can be a challenge.

The following scripts will help you get conversations going with your child — and keep them going throughout his or her life.

Middle School

* Scenario

Your child is just starting middle school and you know that eventually, he will be offered drugs and alcohol.

* What to Say

There are a lot of changes ahead of you in middle school. I know we talked about drinking and drugs when you were younger, but now is when they’re probably going to be an issue.

I’m guessing you’ll at least hear about kids who are experimenting, if not find yourself some place where kids are doing stuff that is risky.

I just want you to remember that I’m here for you and the best thing you can do is just talk to me about the stuff you hear or see.

Don’t think there’s anything I can’t handle or that you can’t talk about with me, okay?

—

* Scenario

You find out that kids are selling prescription drugs at your child’s school. Your child hasn’t mentioned it and you want to get the conversation about it started.

* What to Say

Hey, you probably know that parents talk to each other and find things out about what’s going on at school… I heard there are kids selling pills – prescriptions that either they are taking or someone in their family takes. Have you heard about kids doing this?

—

* Scenario

Your child’s favorite celebrity—the one he or she really looks up to—has been named in a drug scandal.

* What to Say

I think it must be really difficult to live a celebrity life and stay away from that stuff. Being in the public eye puts a ton of pressure on people, and many turn to drugs because they think drugs will relieve that stress.

But a lot of famous people manage to stay clean – like [name others who don’t do drugs] – and hopefully this incident is going to help [name of celebrity] straighten out his/her life.

Of course, people make mistakes – the real measure of a person is how accountable he is when he messes up. It will be interesting to see how he turns out, won’t it?

The thing is, when a person uses drugs and alcohol—especially a kid because he’s still growing—it changes how his brain works and makes him do really stupid things. Most people who use drugs and alcohol need a lot of help to get better. I hope [name] has a good doctor and friends and family members to help him/her.