Summer Newsletter 
July 2020

~ Pride Inside ~ HCCA Working with Youth
New LBGTQ+ Website
For the past 2+ years, HCCA hosted the LGBTQ+ Support ME Network, previously known as the LGBTQ+ Prevention Providers Network.
This June, the Network launched a new website, www.lgbtqSupportME.org  to increase awareness of Maine's LGBTQ+ youth communities. The site provides educational resources and pathways to connect LGBTQ+ youth to broader networks and promotes allied organizations.

It also helps adults and allies find a range of resources to support youth so they feel empowered and supported.
The site features health promotion programs such as ‘This Free Life,’ ‘Sidekicks’ and ‘Maine Youth Action Network’ that emphasize substance and tobacco use prevention as well as tools for building resiliency.
New LGBTQ+ Tobacco Prevention Project! 
This infographic was created by OUT Maine.
Visitors to the website will learn about crucial LGBTQ+ data, how it is gathered and utilized to design and implement evidence-based programs and helps to create a culturally informed prevention workforce and community.
Pride Inside Art Show
LGBTQ+ Art displayed at Liberal Cup, Hallowell
Local LGBTQ+ Youth Artwork on Display in Hallowell through June

LGBTQ+ Youth from Hall-Dale, Cony, and Maine Arts Academy submitted their art this year for the PRIDE Inside Art Show.
Take a stroll through Hallowell to see the work of these talented youth .


Will you join us?

HCCA is partnering with OUT Maine to create a new LGBTQ+ Tobacco Prevention initiative for Kennebec, Knox, and Waldo Counties. 

This project is just starting! If you are interested in joining the Advisory Council, check out the information here.
Food & Nutrition Education
The Easiest Season to
Support Your Local Growers!
Farmers' Markets
Farmer’s Markets have implemented widespread COVID policies: you can pick up a box of food prepackaged at the market! Find a market near you at http://www.mainefarmersmarkets.org/shoppers/market-finder/

On-farm pick-up
Many farms are offering drive through pick-up of their fresh products. Explore this new online farm product directory with on-farm pickup information to find a farm near you: https://extension.umaine.edu/agriculture/farm-product-and-pickup-directory/

School and Community Gardens
Volunteer at a school garden in exchange for fresh produce: keep school gardens supported even though school is out! Find a garden near you by contacting michelle@msgn.org and explore garden resources at msgn.org!
Connect with us Online!

As we continue to work remotely, we've amped up our virtual outreach with webinars, a Facebook Live series, online meet-ups, trainings, and more! The best way to stay in the loop? Follow us on Facebook! That's where you'll find the most up-to-date news, resources, and more!

One of the best things to come out of these past months is our video series, including healthy recipes, story times, and interviews with local LGBTQ+ youth!
Check out our YouTube channel to see videos - including a taco recipe that will make even the pickiest eater try cauliflower!
Equity in Public Health
When our schedules were disrupted this spring, HCCA staff took the opportunity to add weekly discussion meetings to dive deep into equity issues in public health, including race, resilience, and intersectionality. Given the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, we will continue to learn and find new ways incorporate our commitment to equity into our every day work. Interested in learning more? Reach out to Alexis Guy, SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator , for links to some of our most powerful weekly readings.
Substance Use Prevention
Tobacco Innovation Grant Funds Materials on NEW LAW in Maine
Maeghan Maloney, District Attorney for Kennebec and Somerset Counties doesn't want to prosecute people for furnishing tobacco products to minors, but it's a serious crime. HCCA partnered with the District Attorney to develop videos, graphics, and a new webpage to educate the public. Stay tuned to HCCA social media and website to get the latest information and look for flyers in local retail stores regarding the new law.
Maine Arts Academy Virtual Art Show
Resounding SUCCESS
On May 12, the Maine Arts Academy Youth Policy Board held a virtual art show for their peers and school staff. The art show was designed to raise awareness around youth mental health through various mediums of artwork (i.e. digital art, painting, drawing, photography, stop motion animation, etc.) created by young artists.
Throughout the show, policy board members shared five facts focused on youth mental health and art from the 2019 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and Resources to Recover (RTOR). 33 youth artists contributed 44 art pieces to the show, which was a resounding success!
Help Your Child NOT Use
Cannabis or Alcohol this Summer
Many Maine families look forward to summer: School is out and it’s time to go on vacations and relax. It can seem like a season of unlimited possibilities. While there is a lot of fun to be had, it can also be the time of year that is most dangerous for young people.

Here are a few guidelines for parents to help prevent your child from using drugs or alcohol this summer:
  • Take the time to talk to your kids about drugs early on.
  • Stay up to date on who your children’s friends are. When you know who your children’s friends are and have met them and spoken to them yourself, you can get a good feeling for the morals and relative educational level about drugs of these young people. That can help you understand whether or not they will be a risk to leading your own children into bad decisions.
  • Keep your kids busy. One of the prime reasons that young people start experimenting with drugs over the summer is simply because they are bored.

HCCA 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting
2020
HCCA Annual Report

Building Community Connections

Available at hccame.org
HCCA offers Free Virtual Training
Create A Healthy Workplace!

Join Elizabeth Deprey, Tobacco Prevention Coordinator and Nan Bell Let's Go! 5210 Coordinator in July for a webinar to learn about how to empower and engage employers and employees in creating a healthy, supportive work environment.
This webinar is FREE! Join us at 10 a.m. July 14 or 4 p.m. July 16 .

Sign up through Facebook and please share with any Kennebec County employers!
Virtual
Groove -A- Thon Series
Learn new and creative ideas on how to facilitate and engage participants in meeting virtually. We are offering the 3-parts series over the summer months. T hese sessions do not have to be taken in order. Whether you're familiar or uncomfortable with Zoom and Google slides, or still learning, these sessions are for everyone!
Contact k.carter@hccame.org - links for Zoom training and Google slides will be sent after you RSVP.
Our Community Health Champions
Jodi Beck
Benjamin Brown
Patrick Cheek
Samantha Deming-Berr
Cathleen Dunlap
Deborah Emery
Patricia Hart
Patricia Hopkins
Ranae L'Italien
Lisa Miller
Sarah Miller
Barbara Moss
Merry St. Pierre
Ashley Tetreault
Courtney Yeager

Be a Community Champion


Here are t hree ways to
support  HCCA  programs
throughout the year:

  1. Buy a Hannaford Gift Card from HCCA for someone or yourself & 5% of the purchase price goes to support HCCA programs contact Jane Hutchinson.
  2. If you are shopping online, log onto Amazon Smile and select Healthy Communities of the Capital Area as your charity.
  3. Looking to make a charitable donation? Go to our website and click on the DONATE button.