HOPEWELL CREST SCHOOL SHOWS THEY ARE ABOVE THE INFLUENCE

IN S IDE TH I S

I S SUE :

ATI at Hopewell 1

“A Mother’s

Experience with

Rx Drug Abuse”

2

S!cker Shock 2

Holiday Bazaar 3

2013 mee!ng dates 3

Member Spotlight 4

Happy New Year 4

Vice Chair Posi!on 2

C U M B E R L A N D

C O U N T Y

H E A L T H Y

C O M M U N I T I E S

C O A L I T I O N

A N I N I T I A T I V E O F :

T H E S O U T H W E S T C O U N C I L , I N C . W I N T E R 2 0 1 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3

Jessica Kanady Project Director

jessica@southwestcouncil.org P: 856.794.1011 ext. 302

Michael Regenelli Project Coordinator

michael@southwestcouncil.org P: 856.794.1011 ext. 303

Chair

Tracey Huggins

Vice Chair Michael DeLeon

Editor

Brian Kanady

Meetings are held at The Southwest Council, Inc.

1405 N. Delsea Dr. Vineland, NJ 08360

Joseph Williams

SWC Executive Director

Reducing substance abuse among youth in Cumberland County

believe help them stay “above the

influence“ of drugs, alcohol and other

unhealthy behaviors. A5erwards, in the Tag It

Ac!vity, each par!cipant iden!fies a

nega!ve influence that he or she personally

wants to avoid, and then has their picture

taken depic!ng them overcoming that

influence, such as refusing a fake bo7le of

beer or a fake cigare7e, or helping another

teen who is being bullied. By the facilitators

asking the teens to come up with the posi!ve

and nega!ve influences themselves, rather

than simply telling them what to believe, the

teens trust the content of the lessons and

feel personally connected to their choices.

Though we had to postpone a few of the

sessions due to Hurricane Sandy, this only

seemed to increase the par!cipants’

enthusiasm, as they had nearly a month to

hear from classmates and see their symbol

ac!vi!es hanging in the hallway. In total, the

CCHCC presented ATI over 125 students.

The CCHCC would like to thank Ken Blizzard,

the Guidance Counselor at Hopewell Crest

School for helping us bring this program to

the school and providing support, such as

crea!ng a collage of the students’ symbols in

the hallway. We would also like to thank all

the students whose respec<ul behavior and

though<ul par!cipa!on made a wonderful

impression on us and all of the teachers who

opened their classrooms to us! The CCHCC is

happy to have brought ATI to Hopewell Crest,

and we look forward to

working with them

again in the

future!

Michael Regenelli

This fall, the CCHCC brought Above the

Influence (ATI) to Hopewell Crest School’s

7th

and 8th

graders. ATI is a na!onal

campaign created and implemented by

the Na!onal Youth An!-Drug Media

Campaign, a program of the Office of

Na!onal Drug Control Policy. ATI aims to

raise awareness among teens about the

influences in their lives so that they can

stand up to the nega!ve ones and

embrace the posi!ve.

ATI begins with a class discussion that

sees the teen par!cipants take the lead in

iden!fying posi!ve and nega!ve

influences in their lives, community and

culture as a whole. Then, in the Symbol

Ac!vity, the par!cipants decorate an

Above the Influence logo with those

posi!ve influences in their lives that they

P A G E 2

The CCHCC and SCRATCH honor National Medicine Abuse

Month with “A Mother’s Experience with Prescription Drug Abuse”

Michael Regenelli

On October 24, the CCHCC and the Salem-

Cumberland Regional Ac!on Toward

Community Health (SCRATCH) marked

Na!onal Medicine Abuse Awareness Month

with a workshop en!tled, “A Mother’s

Experience with Prescrip!on Drug Abuse,” held

at the Luciano Conference Center at

Cumberland County College. The workshop was

a collabora!ve effort between the CCHCC and

SCRATCH to raise awareness about

medicine abuse.

The main event of the night was “Jason’s

Story,” a presenta!on by Linda Surks. Surks is a

Preven!on Specialist with the NCADD of

Middlesex County who lost her son Jason, a

pharmacy student, to prescrip!on drug abuse.

She used her dual perspec!ves as a

professional and a mother touched by tragedy

to both inform and move the audience, giving

detailed informa!on on the medicine abuse

epidemic, while puHng a human face on the

personal suffering it causes.

The event included a health fair that took place

prior to Surks’ presenta!on. The fair featured

social services professionals who shared

community resources and their specialized

knowledge about the issue. Par!cipants

included: Sheena Davis from Cumberland

County College’s mental health services; Dawn

McQueen from the Family Success Center of

Commercial Township; Michelle Brecht, Kathy

Fisher, and Yvonne Burgess from South Jersey

Healthcare; Hernando and Kimberly Perez from

Hernando’s Hometown Pharmacy; George

Yansick from Daytop Village; Tamara Brown

from New Jersey Family Care; Darla DeLeon

from Steered Straight; JuWana McNear from

Quality Care Resource and Referral Services

Inc.; Elvina Smith from Cumberland County

Guidance Center; and Mary Reimer from

SODAT.

The wide variety of experts gave a7endees

insight into the medicine abuse problem, and

perspec!ves on how to combat the issue at

different points in the cycle, from educa!on to

treatment.

The CCHCC looks forward to con!nuing to work

with these partners to combat medicine abuse

in Cumberland County, and to future successful

collabora!ons with SCRATCH. Together we can

create a posi!ve change in Cumberland County.

During the new year the CCHCC and SCRATCH will be teaming up with local liquor establishments to

remind consumers about the laws regarding

providing alcohol to minors.

The Sticker Shock Campaign aims to reach those individuals over the age of 21 who

legally purchase alcohol and provide it to those underage.

If your establishment would like to take part in

this campaign or you know of youth would like to participate, please contact Jessica Kanady at

jessica@southwestcouncil.org or 856-794-1011 ext. 302

Congratulations to Michael DeLeon of

Steered Straight who has been elected to serve as the Coalition’s Vice Chair.

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 3

Mark Your Calendar for 2013 Meeting Dates

Monday, January 14

Monday, February 11

Monday, March 11

Monday, April 8

Monday, May 13

Monday, June 10

Monday, July 8

Monday, September 9

Monday, October 21

Monday, November 18

General Meengs take place from 1:30-3 at the

Southwest Council located at 1405 N. Delsea Drive in

Vineland, NJ. *In January, April, July and November

the Steering Commi-ee will meet 1 hour prior to the

General CCHCC meeng.

Community comes out to shop for a good causeCommunity comes out to shop for a good causeCommunity comes out to shop for a good causeCommunity comes out to shop for a good cause

SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO

MADE THE EVENT POSSIBLE

Angel Nichols – Gold Canyon Candles, Barbara and

Abby Ernst, Barbara Taylor-Holmes, Beth Mayers –

SCRATCH Coali!on, Brenda Burke – CC Health Dept.,

Buddies 4 Ever, LLC., Dark Woods Soaps Company,

Debbi – BleuKatzDesigns, Dominos of Vineland and

Millville, Dove Chocolate Discoveries, Founda!on for

Wellness, Professionals, Jay’s Sports Photos, Jenn

Gandy – Na!ve Americans Against Diabetes, Jovanny

Rodriguez, Julia Jones – Lia Sophia, Lillian Dawkins,

Keiko Warner, Michael DeLeon – Steered Straight,

Millville Public schools faculty and custodial staff,

Mum’s Bow!que, Off Broad Street Players Theatre

Company, Pampered Chef, Polly Viven! – YSAC,

Premier Designs Jewelry, Rose - Tupperware, Ryan

Pra7a – Southwest Council, Stephanie – Miche,

Stephanie – Tastefully Simple, The Christmas Count

Down, The Cookie Cu7er, The Cra5y Chimera, The Joy

of Jewelry, Tracey Huggins – Renewed Minds

On Saturday December 8, the CCHCC hosted their 2nd Annual

Holiday Bazaar. The Bazaar took place at Lakeside Middle School in

Millville which was kind enough to donate the space for the

fundraiser. The Holiday Bazaar, which brings in cra5 and product

vendors selling everything from sports memorabilia to children’s

hair accessories, seeks to raise funds that will enhance the efforts

of the CCHCC’s local drug preven!on ini!a!ves.

Over 20 vendors reserved table space during the fundraiser. In

addition, several social service organizations attended the event to

provide diabetes screenings, blood pressure tests and massages.

The one-of-a-kind shopping experience provided community

members with an opportunity to find items that can’t be found in a

mall or your favorite department store, as well as the chance to

receive a quick health check-up during a !me of year that can be

extremely stressful.

While shoppers were busy searching for the perfect holiday gift, or

a special treat for themselves, the Off Broad Street Players

performed a variety of holiday favorites. Volunteer Barbara Ernst

and her daughter Abby, scooped bags of freshly popped popcorn

for passersby. The Bazaar concluded at 2:00 p.m. a5er over 20

items including cookie trays, gi5 baskets and the Insanity Workout

DVD set were raffled off.

As we begin to make plans for the 2013 Holiday Bazaar, we’re

looking to expand the scope and reach of this annual fundraiser.

Faith-based organiza!ons, agencies or businesses that are willing

to donate space for the event should contact Jessica Kanady at

856-794 1011 ext. 302 or jessica@southwestcouncil.org.

Contact us for more information on the CCHCC, our Youth Network or to sign up for our mailing list!

CCHCC

c/o The Southwest Council, Inc.

1405 N. Delsea Dr.

Vineland, NJ 08360

Phone: 856.794.1011 ext. 302

Fax: 856.794.1239

E-mail: jessica@southwestcouncil.org

facebook.com/CCHealthyCommunitiesCoalition

You make it possible, Melissa Niles The CCHCC would like to express its

gra!tude to Melissa Niles who has

made many posi!ve contribu!ons to

the coali!on a5er joining several

years ago. Not only has Niles volun-

teered on several coali!on ini!a!ves,

including health fairs, fundraisers and

walks, but she also func!oned as the

Coali!on’s Vice Chair from 2011-2012.

Niles, who was recently promoted to

the role of Assistant Director of

Cumberland County Alcohol and Drug

Abuse Services, has also served in the

capacity of a Recovery Coach, a

Substance Abuse Counselor, a Senior

Counselor and a Clinical Supervisor.

Niles who struggled with her own

addic!ons many years ago realizes

the gi5 of sharing recovery with

others.

“I believe that people can and do

recover from various addic!ons and

can find a new way to live. I do what I

do because I want to share the hope

of recovery,” said Niles.

The Cumberland County Healthy Communities Coalition was formed to build healthy communities by

reducing substance abuse among youth.

The Coalition is a group of commited community members of all ages and from all walks of life, including

educators, law enforcement, parents, youth, faith leaders, health professionals, media, local government

and businesses.

We need a Healthy Communities Coalition because a group with a common goal can achieve so much more than an individual alone. Our Coalition promotes coordination and partnership between

organizations to create environments that are alcohol, tobacco and drug free. We build links between local

organizations and individuals who are working to accomplish common goals.

The Coalition meets at the Southwest Council’s Cumberland County Office in Vineland. We welcome

any interested community members to attend our next general meeting on

Monday, January 14, 2012 at 1:30.

The Coalition is a community initiative of The Southwest Council, Inc. Funds are provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy and managed by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Not only does Niles work full !me but

she is also an ac!ve member of the

Na!onal Council on Alcoholism and

Drug Dependence Advocacy Leadership

Program. The program includes every-

thing from advoca!ng to legislators and

other poli!cal influences for interests

such as the Parity Bill, reducing the

s!gma of addic!on and mental illness,

and closing the addic!on treatment gap.

The collabora!on between Niles and the

coali!on is an excellent example of how

preven!on and treatment can work

hand-in-hand to create a healthy

community.

The CCHCC

is honored to

have

passionate

individuals

like Niles as

members of

the

coali!on.

The CCHCC would like to thank each and every one of you

who have made our progress possible in 2012. For your

support, we are eternally grateful.

We look forward to another year of working together to make a

difference in Cumberland County!