Your monthly news & updates
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Grantee Spotlight: South Central Public Health District
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Alcohol Awareness Month Ideas
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Saint Paddy's Day
the Alcohol-Free Way
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Idaho SDE Prevention Conference
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Farewell from Your Newsletter Editor
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Photo of the Month!
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Find Your Passion Profile: Macyn McCullough
A day - actually, every day - in the life of Maycn McCullough revolves around horses, horses, horses. And that's just how this Idaho teen likes it. In January, Maycn was crowned Miss Teen Rodeo Idaho, an honor she's basically been working towards ...
Read more
betheparents.org
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Due to concerns about COVID-19, we have decided to postpone the "Heroin(e)" Documentary Screening and Panel at BSU—originally scheduled for April 8th—until we feel confident that our attendees and community partners will not be at risk by attending large public gatherings.
We appreciate your understanding and patience at this time. Please do not hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns. We will share the rescheduled date as soon as possible.
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Grantee Spotlight: South Central Public Health District Develops Vaping Prevention and Education Booklet
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Cody Orchard is a Health Education Specialist with South Central Public Health District (SCPHD). Over the past three years working in tobacco prevention and cessation he had seen a demand for vaping education from teachers, students, and parents. He developed a vaping presentation and delivered it to local communities. Consistently, he was asked whether he had a brochure or document to reinforce the detailed information he presented.
This gave way to the idea to develop and print a booklet that captures everything he discusses in his vaping presentation. He received funding from SCPHD to create and proofread the booklet and was awarded a vaping education mini-grant through ODP to assist with printing.
The booklet covers a wide variety of topics that include the history of vaping, how the devices work, potential dangers, chemicals found in vapes, illicit drugs being vaped, and more. Cody says everyone can use the booklet, but it might be most beneficial to school personnel, parents, and physicians.
Four thousand booklets will be disseminated across SCPHD and the State through schools, community events, and conferences including the Idaho Prevention and Support Conference, State Student Resource Officer Conference, Idaho Academy of Physicians Conference, and Northwest Drug and Alcohol Symposium.
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Alcohol Awareness Month Ideas: Four Ways to Get Involved
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The month of April is National Alcohol Awareness Month and provides an opportunity to increase awareness of alcohol addiction in an intense 30-day focus. This is aimed at bringing understanding of alcoholism's causes, the effective treatments available, and encouraging people that recovery is possible.
Here are four ways to get involved this year:
1. Be the Parents 30-Day Challenge
. We know that strong family relationships help mitigate risk for underage drinking. Be the Parents 30-Day Challenge is a fun list of simple ways for parents to spend one-on-one time with their children. Order one plus a magnet to put it up on the fridge and try to complete as many of these family activities as possible during the month of April. If you don't have school-aged kids, share with parents you know!
Order Free 30-Day Challenge + Magnet here
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2.Review your own alcohol use.
If you drink, track your consumption during the month of April. Do you drink to relax after a hard day's work? Do you drink more than you planned when spending time with friends? If you have children, consider how often and how much you drink in front them. Your relationship with alcohol can have a strong impact on their attitude toward alcohol. This exercise can help you be mindful about your alcohol consumption, and—if you feel uneasy about some of your results—identify if you need to modify your behavior in any way.
Want to get involved? Communities and organizations can:
4. Finally, use the hashtag #AlcoholAwarenessMonth
on social media while sharing and raising awareness.
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Saint Paddy's Day the Alcohol-Free Way
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T
o many adults, Saint Patrick's Day is about green beer, green clothes, and well, more green beer. I have a close Irish friend who finds this very frustrating and each year is sure to remind us that there is so much more to the history of Saint Patrick's Day.
Saint Patrick's Day, celebrated annually on March 17th, is the feast day of Saint
Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. It was emigrants, particularly to the United States, who transformed St. Patrick’s Day into a largely
secular
holiday of revelry and celebration of things Irish. Cities with large numbers of Irish immigrants staged the most extensive celebrations, which included elaborate parades.
Blue was actually the color traditionally associated with Saint Patrick, but wearing green and eating green foods is commonly associated with the day. Of course, so is dyeing drinks green and eating corned beef and cabbage.
Whether you celebrate Irish heritage or not, here are some fun alcohol-free ways to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day:
- Try finding and making a recipe for traditional Irish foods—that could be corned beef and cabbage, shepherd's pie or bangers and mash.
- Eat green foods with your children or students. A few drops of food-coloring works on milk, frosting, and vanilla pudding.
- Listen to Irish folk music, you can find stations on Pandora or Spotify.
- Wear green clothing and party jewelry, including Shamrocks (a three leaf clover)
- Read the story of Saint Patrick—there are a few animated versions out there too!
And say it the Irish way—Saint Paddy's Day. My Irish friend always reminds me, it is PADDY not PATTY. So Happy Saint Paddy's Day everyone!
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Annual Idaho Prevention and Support Conference April 9-10, 2020
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The Annual Idaho Prevention & Support Conference (IPSC), hosted by the Idaho State Department of Education, will take place on April 9 & 10, 2020 in Sun Valley, Idaho. The IPSC mission is to focus on innovation, best practices, collective problem-solving, and motivation to most effectively address youth risk behaviors, foster optimal health, and support academic success for Idaho students.
This is the 27
th
year of the conference which brings together more than 700 individuals from schools, health care, public health and government agencies. Over the two days attendees will hear from two keynote presenters and 30 workshops presenters.
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Farewell from your Newsletter Editor
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There is never a great
time
to say goodbye, but since I've been bringing you the ODP newsletter for past 20 months this might be a great
way
to goodbye. I am both sad and excited to announce that I will be leaving ODP as I have accepted a position working in marketing for one of the local healthcare systems. I will get to focus full-time on my passion for health and behavior change communications and hone skills in writing, digital, and creative development. With my last day March 20th, this is the final newsletter I'll publish.
It has been a pleasure and privilege to work with many of you as partners and colleagues on our many lines of effort including prescription opioid misuse prevention, underage drinking and Be The Parents, the Opioid Strategic Plan, and naloxone distribution. It has been equally as fun—and frustrating at times—to plan, edit, and deliver this newsletter each month. I hope you have found it filled with meaningful content and useful information.
If you need anything from me, I owe you print materials or naloxone (kidding, I watch that like a hawk), or you just want to say farewell, feel free to reach out. Keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
Shaina M. Cales, MPH
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Idaho City’s “Prime Time” after-school program incorporates
prevention education, homework assistance and alternative activities
for elementary school students.
If you have a photo you would like to submit for Photo of the Month, please email it to
info@odp.idaho.gov
with subject "Photo of the Month" and a short caption!
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We envision a safe and healthy Idaho free from the devastating
impact of substance use on youths, families, and communities
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