Support prevention!

Since 2011, October has been the month of working toward the prevention of substance misuse. Knowing and understanding the resources available in your community are the first steps to ensuring you can support someone in need. What are the resources in your area? Where can you gain knowledge about drugs and alcohol, that will support prevention efforts at work, home or school? 

If you are someone who wants to support prevention efforts, it is critical to understand that addiction does not discriminate, it does not have to be street drugs, and it is not “those people”. Those people are someone’s child, parent, spouse or community member. They can be any age or race or hold any type of employment. There is no boundary for addiction. Remember that. 

Secondly, prevention does not have to be hard. It can be as simple as a heartfelt discussion around your dinner table. Get some resources from a reliable source in your community and talk about the material with your family members. And I don’t mean just your fifth grader, have a real conversation with everyone in your house, together. Saying “don’t do drugs” is not enough. Answer questions, and discuss how to ask for help or talk to someone who may be in need of assistance.

It's Fire Prevention Month: Is your home safe?

Prevention Tips

Yes. Having smoke detectors throughout your home is a first, important step to preventing injury, loss of life or destruction of property in a fire.

However, there are many precautionary steps you can take to avoid a fire starting in the first place. Check the TSS website and our social media pages for weekly prevention tips throughout the month.

We'll start here:

Prevention tip #1: An overloaded outlet can melt and catch fire. In old houses especially, there never seem to be enough outlets to keep up with our contemporary power needs. But don't be tempted to overload an outlet. Daisy chains of extension cords are a strict NO. Less is more when it comes to avoiding fire risk! Instead, consider only plugging in what you absolutely need at the time.

Find a Community Health Fair Near You

TSS, Inc. Ketchikan has been a participant in the Ketchikan Community Health Fair for more than two decades.  

A Health Fair is a great way to get a snapshot of what is going on in your body and what you may need to be paying attention to. At least once at every annual health fair, our team helps someone become aware of a health issue that they did not realize they had. We have been able to direct them to a doctor who guides them in either managing that problem or, in some instances, get them to the specialist they need for treatment. 

Popular packages at Health Fairs may include a Women’s or Men’s package, or one that focuses on Thyroid or Vitamin D. We have offered Covid Antibody testing and Hepatitis C testing in years where these were tests that were in the forefront of people’s minds.

Most packages require fasting, which means no food or drink with calories for up to 12 hours before testing. Be sure to check before you show up!

Create a great offer by adding words like "free," "personalized," "complimentary," or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take action, so consider inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"

Help TSS Promote Red Ribbon Week!

Each year, communities across the country and our team at TSS, commemorate Red Ribbon Week October 23rd – 31st.

The mission of this annual campaign is to help kids stay drug-free, so they can be the best they can be, now and into the future. Keep in mind, that research overwhelmingly shows that young people who refrain from substance use are less likely to grow into adults with substance abuse problems.

This year’s Red Ribbon Week theme is “Life is A Movie, Film Drug Free,™” to spotlight stories of youth choosing to live drug-free. Throughout the week, campaign participants are encouraged to share video clips about making this choice. (Upload video clips here.)

You can also support the week by visiting redribbon.org and participating in, or hosting, fun activities and games to inspire our youth. Or, become a virtual ambassador by taking the Red Ribbon Week pledge and posting information about staying drug-free on social media. Learn more here.

Meet the Collector: Verla Brown

Hi, my name is Verla Brown I work in TSS–Juneau office. I started in March 2024, and I love working here, especially because of my amazing co-workers! I enjoy interacting with other people and it’s inspiring to hear from the other people in the office why they do this job. Like me, I think most of them like feeling that they are making a difference in people’s lives, even if it’s just by making them laugh or feel better leaving than when they came into the office.

I think TSS helps people in the community by making them feel safe, whether that is knowing that they are getting on a plane or boat with someone who is not under the influence or that the person running their business has completed their safety training and is committed to a safety culture. More than that, I think our office gives people in our community a safe space to come to.

Some of my hobbies include but are not limited to playing bingo in my spare time, basketball and lots of other sports and spending time with my daughter and friends. I would also like to note I LOVE ENERGY DRINKS; can’t live without them. So if you ever visit our Juneau office stop by and say hello and don’t be surprised if I have an energy drink nearby!

Coaching Corner: Tips for coping with election stress

By Renee Schofield, NO SPEED LIMIT

As a certified health and wellness coach, I am always gathering resources to help people live their best lives.

In our high-tech society, news travels fast. We get in the moment information instantaneously. That can be a great thing but can also be extremely stressful for some. We know that all parties have their own thoughts on various issues, and we know that they will, most certainly differ on many subjects. That is the beauty of our system. Having the opportunity to listen and learn from the candidates is helpful in making our decisions on who we each would cast a vote for.

BUT, what about the anxiety and worry that comes along with all this banter? This year has been one for the books. With two assassination attempts, a sudden candidate withdrawal and the incivility of how we discuss the topics. Family, co-worker and community conversations have the potential to become very contentious and inflammatory, quickly.

Keeping from becoming overwhelmed by the constant barrage of information takes some intentional planning. Here are some tips to help you navigate election season: