The Chesterfield County Coordinating Council (CCCC) is seeking

volunteers/members to help grow the Youth Development Coalition

in order to create a healthy environment to assist our youth to be-

come productive citizens.

In 1998 a subcommittee of the CCCC was formed to address Ad-

olescent Pregnancy Prevention (APPI). In 2002-2003 the CCCC and

its APPI subcommittee expanded to include 2 local coalitions that

had been serving youth in the Cheraw and Pageland areas through

State grant programs. During that same period the CCCC wrote 3

different grants that would expand the work that the blended coali-

tion’s and APPI subcommittee were doing, thus forming the Ches-

terfield County Youth Development Coalition (CCYDC).

The CCYDC addresses the risky behaviors among our youth. We

are working to positively change the community and to help prevent

our youth from making risky decisions. The coalition is made up of

students, parents, teachers, law enforcement officers, business lead-

ers, state agencies, faith-based organizations, health organizations,

and everyday people throughout Chesterfield County.

The members are involved in: creating a work plan for the coali-

tion, building membership, building sustainability for the coalition,

spending time at local community events, talking with members of

the community about the CCYDC, attend meetings, planning award

ceremonies, writing articles for the newspapers or newsletter, keep-

(Continued on page 3)

The Youth Development Coalition will meet at the DSS building on the third Tuesday of every month at 3:30pm.

We invite those interested in helping the youth of our community to participate in our meetings. By offering your advice, expertise and suggestions you will help to strengthen the coalition while serving the communi-ty.

Upcoming Meetings:

June 16, 2015

July 21, 2015

Chesterfield County Youth Development Coalition

June 2015 PO Box 648, Phone 843-623-5265 Chesterfield, SC 29709 e-mail: srmydc@shtc.net

The Chesterfield County Youth Development Coalition is a subcommittee of the Chesterfield County

Coordinating Council and was established to address risky behaviors among our youth. We are committed to

helping our young people develop the proper decision-making skills needed to prevent risky behaviors. We

are students, parents, teachers, law enforcement officers, business leaders, state agencies, faith-based organi-

zations, health care organizations and people from all walks of life working together to build a stronger future

for our community.

June is Home Safety Month 2

Survey for newsletter 2

Compliance Checks 3

The Blunt Truth 4

Drug Take Back 5

Did You Know? 6

V o l u n t eer s n eed ed f o r Y D C

Chesterfield County Youth Development Coalition

June is Home Safety Month

Tell us what you think about the newsletter

The YDC is at the end of its grant funding through Drug Free Communities and will no longer be able to send out the newsletter through the regular mail. So we are asking you, the folks that receive and read it to tell us how important this is to you. If you get the newsletter through e-mail than you will still receive it. But we would still like to get your opinion about it. The following link will take you to a short

survey about the YDC newsletter. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CCCC-Newsletter . By taking this short survey you will give us information about article you would like to see and also be entered to win a gift card. We enjoy putting each months newsletter together and love to hear what you think of the content.

When we think of home safety we tend to fo-cus our attention on how secure and safe our homes are. Are the outlets over loaded, locks and deadbolts working on the doors, do the windows open and lock easily. But for us at the YDC it means a lot more than that. With the summer months heating up and kids out of school there are many other factors to consider. Is there any alcohol that the kids have easy access too? Do you leave your prescriptions on the counter in the bathroom? Does the gun you keep in the drawer of the nightstand have a trigger lock? Do your kids have free access to the internet, and does the internet have free access to your kids?

Like most parents, we believe that our chil-dren know the rules and they are willing to fol-low them. The truth is that children in general are curious. They see adults taking pills on a reg-ular basis with no real explanations as to why we do this. We drink freely in our homes as is our right, but then express the harm as it relates to our children. We allow our kids free access to rifles and guns and tell them they can only use them when an adult is present. But it is the very nature of children to explore and push those

boundaries to prove to the

adults in their lives that they can handle the very things we try to protect them from.

Look in the medicine cabinet and decide what items need to be put in a lock box so chil-dren do not have access. Talk with your children about why you take each prescription and the harm these drugs could do to them. Explain the

laws regarding underage drinking and the effects of alcohol on their brain while it is still developing. Limit the amount of alcohol in the home and move its location peri-odically or even lock it up. Buy that child proof lock for the gun or rifles, and store the ammunition in a locked box. Limit the access to websites and pay attention to who

your kids are chatting with online. You can be sure there are people who are paying attention to kid’s websites, and probably not people of which you as parents would approve.

Our kids get plenty of mixed messages out-side the home; do not send mixed messages within your home. Tell you kids the truth about the dangers within your home and be a positive role model. If you would like more information about these topics contact the Chesterfield Coun-ty Youth Development Coalition at 623-5265 or e-mail us at srmydc@shtc.net.

Page 2

ing the monthly meeting minutes, or just helping

around the office. The CCYDC meets once a

month to evaluate our efforts and to put our ac-

tion plan into effect. There is no cost for mem-

bership, and the spirit to change our community

for the good.

If you are interested in joining the

CCYDC please contact Stacee Mosier at 843-623

-5265 or srmydc@shtc.net. Meetings are held

the third Tuesday of each month at 3:30 pm in

the Commons room of the DSS building in Ches-

terfield. If you plan to attend and are new to the

meetings please call ahead so we can prepare an

information packet just for you.

The CCSO completed compliance checks on May

15. A total of 29 stores /bars throughout the

Pageland, Chesterfield and Cheraw areas were

checked for compliance with underage drinking

laws. 10 of the stores/bars were non-compliant.

Please help us in thanking those stores that are

compliant with your patronage.

Cheraw Stores: In & Out Convenience, Mur-

phy’s, Walmart, Alco #23, Markette, Fast Lane,

and the

Chesterfield Stores: Piggly Wiggly, Markette

#29, Alco, Curtis Mini Mart, and the Grits and

Grocery

Pageland Store : Nicholson’s Liquor, In & Our

Mini Mart, Town and Country, McCrays Country

Cupboard, Carolina Country, Markette #27,

Food Lion and High Point One Stop

Conti nu ed from pa ge 1

Compliance Chec ks

Volunteers

Committee - Researching, Creating, and Disseminating educational

materials on the impact of marijuana use.

In 2014, the Behavioral Health Association Services (BHSA) of South Carolina charged its Prevention Services Subcommittee to begin a study on states legalizing marijuana and how South Carolina should begin addressing the issue. Adopting the

tagline “The Blunt Truth”, the committee quickly evolved its study on legalization to understanding other relevant issues such as medical marijuana, recreational use, decriminalization, impact on youth, businesses, law enforcement etc. The committee also expanded with other organizations that also had similar interests in our study and the impact on South Carolina such as Department of Alcohol And Other Drug Abuse Services, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), South Carolina Sheriff’s Association, South Carolina Crime Victim’s Council, South Carolina Baptist Convention, etc. In a short period of time, The Blunt Truth committee developed several educational documents to be shared throughout South Carolina and decided that it needed a way to educate South Carolinians on this issue. Thus, The Blunt Truth SC website:

http://www.theblunttruthsc.com was born.

WE’LL TAKE THEM

OUT OF THE SYSTEM

AND DISPOSE OF THEM SAFELY

DRIVE UP – DROP OFF

Got

Bring your unused/expired medications to:

Saturday,

June 20th 10:00am – 1:00pm

Wannamaker Drug in Cheraw Hospice of Chesterfield County

Food Lion in Pageland McBee Town Hall

Proper disposal of unused medications saves lives and protects the environment

Drugs

Sponsored by: the Chesterfield County Youth Development Coalition in conjunction with the

Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office, the Pee Dee Regional Coordinating Council, Council on Aging and drop site businesses.

203 Commerce Ave. PO Box 648

Chesterfield, SC 29709

Phone:843-623-5265 Fax:843-623-5360

E-mail: srmydc@shtc.net

T o c r e a t e a h e a l t h y e n v i r o n -m e n t i n o r d e r f o r o u r y o u t h t o

b e c o m e p r o d u c t i v e c i t i z e n s

Vision Mission

A c o a l i t i o n o f c i t i z e n s a n d o r g a n i z a -t i o n s w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r t o c h a n g e c o m -

m u n i t y a t t i t u d e s b y p r o v i d i n g s u p -p o r t , a s s i s t a n c e a n d g u i d a n c e n e e d e d t o p r e v e n t r i s k y b e h a v i o r s a m o n g a l l

y o u t h i n C h e s t e r f i e l d C o u n t y .

Did you know that South Carolina’s teen birth rate has declined more than 50 percent since the

early nineties? In April 2013, the CDC reported that nearly one in five teen births is a repeat

birth—meaning that it's at least the second birth for the teenage mother.

Here are a few facts from http://www.teenpregnancysc.org:

1 in 3 girls in South Carolina will become pregnant before her

20th birthday.

Teen pregnancy costs taxpayers in South Carolina over $166

million per year.

Less than half of teen mothers in South Carolina graduate from

high school.

Only 51% of women who are teen mothers get their high school

degree by age 22.

52% of all mothers on welfare had their first child as a teenager.

80% of teen mothers are unmarried; fathers pay less than $800

a year for child support.

95% of South Carolinians rate teen pregnancy as a problem in their community.

Another excellent resource to learn more is http://www.NotRightNowSC.org. Only about half of

South Carolina high school students have had sex. It is important that teens get all the facts be-

fore making this decision. Parents need to talk with their teens and even their pre-teens about

this issue. Getting the truth from a trusted adult is much better than relying on the information

spread through friends and social media. Let your kids know how you feel about the subject and

what your expectations are for them. Encourage your teen to have a conversation with their part-

ner about what they feel comfortable with and the risk of pregnancy.

Did You Know?