Natrona County Prevention Coalition
April 2nd, 2019 Time: 1:00-2:00 p.m. Place: Oil and Gas Building @ 2211 King Blvd
Approval of Minutes from March 2019: Jean Davies motioned approval, Hailey Rodgers 2nd. None opposed.
New Business
Welcome Everyone!
Ø Prevention Week- In an attempt to raise awareness about prevention efforts in Natrona County, CPSG proposes that Natrona County take part in celebrating Prevention Week. SAMHSA celebrates prevention week nationally in the middle of May. It was suggested that we modify the timing of our event to partner with other community events (such as Safe Kids Day and the Art Walk) and celebrate Prevention Week April 29th – May 4th. Whitney passed out a calendar that was created with the help of CPSG that outlines the topics to be covered each day:
Monday 4/29: What is Prevention: An introduction to NCPC and Prevention Week (“What is Prevention” Message)
Tuesday 4/30: Preventing Youth Tobacco Use
Wednesday 5/1: Preventing Illicit Drug Use and Youth Marijuana Use
Thursday 5/2: Preventing Underage Drinking and Adult Alcohol Misuse (Addressed by YEC at the Artwalk)
Friday 5/3: Preventing Prescription and Opioid Drug Misuse
Saturday 5/4: General Crime Prevention and a Recap of the week’s topics
The week’s topics are intended to highlight what we do for parents and youth in the community. YEC will be providing a substance free teen zone at the Artwalk, as this community event has notoriously been alcohol focused. EYC will be surveying youth to see if they’d be less likely to use substances if there were more alternatives available. YEC has also been talking about developing a Skate Park in the community based on the idea that more options = less substance use.
Ø NCPC Strategic Planning- Voting has been set for next month’s meeting: May 7th 2019. The Strategic Plan will look at prevention topics for both the youth and adults in Natrona County. Whitney will be sending out a Survey Monkey this week in an attempt to capture input from everyone in the coalition who may or may not be able to attend the next meeting. This survey will inform our strategic plan.
Subcommittee & Strategies Report:
Ø Family and Parenting:
o Community Baby Shower: Will take place April 13, 2019 at the Boys & Girls Club. Last minute booths are still available. 20 booths have been confirmed as of now, providing a wide variety of resources including dental health, mental health, physical health, breast feeding, fun interactive activities that parents can do with their children, as well as baby essentials such as diapers. There is currently a diaper drive going on now, if anyone would like to squeeze in a donation before the event.
o Family Day: 2019 Family Day will take place July 9th Stay tuned for details.
Ø YEC: #WYAMPLIFY’s Youth Top Chef event was a hit! The youth had a great time. YEC is now actively planning the Zombie Ball with will take place in June at the David Street Station. YEC participants are currently seeking scholarships for this event.
Ø 21st Century Community Learning Centers: Spring APAS will be conducted this month. Anyone interested in assisting with observations, contact Sheena at shixson@mercercasper.com to sign up. Centers are gearing up to transition into summer programing, and will be providing a wide variety of exciting opportunities this summer. April 22nd-26th is Afterschool Professionals Appreciation Week. Sheena passed around fliers that that list ways to thank these valuable professionals in our community. Mercer may not be able to apply for Cohort 13 this round. Cohort 10 is ending its final year this year. Cohort 12 will be in operation for 4 more years. CCLC staff have been busy with Federal Reporting and continuation applications for cohort 12.
o Boy & Girls Club: 200 kids participated in BGCCW programing over spring break. They took 2 field trips a day most days that week. BGCCW is currently registering for their summer camps. They will be participating in Safe Kids day May 4th, and will be focusing on traffic safety, emotional safety and anti-bullying efforts.
o Science Zone: The Science Zone has begun their summer enrollment for middle school and high school camps. Topics they plan to cover this summer include NASA and STEM projects, Hydroponic and Aquaponics gardening, and will be launching their Sun, Earth and Universe curriculum with a family event April 13th from 10am-5pm. This unit will look at the science behind building rockets, goldilocks planets, and other atrial bodies. Game night will take place April 15th!
o YMCA: update via email: YMCA’s summer camp will include STEM learning and Social Emotional Learning. They will be working on a community garden full of food they can eat, and plan to be hosting engagement opportunities that celebrate the Wyoming summer outdoors- fishing, swimming, etc.
o VIBES: Not present, no update.
Ø Community Prevention Strategies Group: A group photo idea was presented as a way to market NCPC: Who we are and what we do. Rack cards are currently being revamped. Whitney will send out electronic proofs once they are finalized.
Introductions:
Present: Whitney Lamb (NCPC Chair/Mercer FRC), Susan Buettgenback (PAT), Wendy Luck (Serve Wyoming), Rebecca Albertson (DOC- Probation & Parole), Lisa Brown (Mercer FRC), Bill Howell (CWCC), Lori Burns (CHA/CHA Cares), Nicole Wilson (PAT), Sheena Hixson (Mercer FRC), Chris Mahoney (WBI), Vanessa Miramontes (Workforce Services), Alissa Thyfault (Mercer FRC), Charlie Krampner (YEC), Hailey Rodgers (CNCHD), Amanda Whistler (YCC), Andrea D'onofrio (Safe Kids/WMC foundation), Jean Davies (NCPT), Kathie Swan (BGCCW), Christi Parrish (WCCA), Keith McPheeters (CPD), Greta Hinderliter (NCSD- Homeless Liason), Jennifer Whitehead (Climb Wyoming), John Becker (NCSD), Paul Fritzler (DFS), Cori Burton (Mercer FRC), Jen Dyer (Self Help), Erin Ford (CWCC), Ivonne Chavez (Seton House), Shelly Devoss (The Science Zone), Corrie Whitman (DOC- Student Court)
Announcements:
CNCHD: staff has completed TIPS train the trainer class to assist in training servers in TIPS overserving prevention. CNCHD has job opening for a community prevention specialist. There will be a drug take back at Casper College on April 10th @ 10am-2pm in Liesinger Hall, and a shedding event on May 18th at Walmart West. These events help prevent opioid misuse as well as suicide attempts.
YCC-present, no updates
Workforce Services- hosting a Spring Job Fair at the Casper College T-Bird Gym May 1st from 9am – 3pm. Also hosting a Mock Job Fair with mock interviews April 17th from 4-6pm on the second floor of the Gateway Building. All ages are welcome to attend.
NCSD- Graduation is in 6 weeks!
Probation & Parole- Changes in legislature have the P&P office focusing on “how can we get people better?” Kids often look to adults for mentorship, and when they see these adults indulging in alcohol it looks like a great time. While we may not stop people from drinking, we can focus on harm reduction efforts; i.e. teaching adults how to be responsible with their drinking. “These are important conversations to continue having.”
PAT- Still enrolling families, bilingual or not. The Early Childhood Alliance is hosting an event on April 16th from 4 – 7pm at the fairgrounds. 20+ vendors will be in attendance, and there are a few FREE booths still available. The target population is families with children 8 years old or younger. Contact Susan at SusanPAT@nowcap.com for more info or to sign up for a booth.
Casper Housing Authority: CHA has a branch called CHA Cares which will be hosting an elementary camp through Kids Kampus. Enrollment begins now. They will also be hosting a big Father’s Day event. Contact Lori Burns for booth registration.
Mercer FRC- Mercer now offers 5 classes for parents, families, and couples: Love and Logic, Make Parenting a Pleasure, Strengthening Families, Elevate Couples, and the new Nurtured Heart Approach which provides insight into guiding high intensity children who may be diagnosed with psychological struggles such as Autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, and Oppositional Defiance Disorder to name a few. The next Nurtured Heart Approach course is an all day class on Friday May 17th. This course is perfect for parents AND professionals who work with children. Intake paperwork can now conveniently be accessed online at mercercasper.com. Also, Insight into Substance Prevention’s evidence based curriculum has been updated recently. The coalition was asked to submit their family-friendly events to Sheena at shixson@mercercasper.com or on our website at ncpreventioncoalition.net. New Anger Management series starts tonight. Also, WAMSAC is seeking an Executive Director. The job posting can be found on indeed. This position involves Lobbying and working with the Dept. of Health.
BGCCW- see CCLC updates
Serve Wyo- April 12th is National Service Recognition Day. There will be a proclamation to honor service professionals. Serve Wyo is also launching a service learning & paired professionals program in Riverton. Casper College intends to start a service learning initiative as well. Stay tuned!
Climb Wyo- CNA classes will begin Mid May. Info meeting to happen in April. Fliers about this will be sent out this week! Also, Climb Wyo is seeking to hire a program director.
Self Help Center- April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Tuesday April 9th there will be a proclamation made at City Hall which will launch the “Start by Believing” Campaign. This campaign, while controversial in some parts of the country, is at the heart of CPD’s approach to taking care of victims. The Child Advocacy Project will kick off their pinwheel project right after the proclamation. Self Help also plans to host a summer program this year. Cost is $75/week, but Self Help is willing to work with clients in need. The focus of programing will be to teach youth how to take care of environments in and out of their home, and will host camping trips for youth!
WCCA- Currently seeking mentors for youth- must be 21 or older and pass a background check.
CPD- the Meth Conference will take place April 10th and 11th. On May 16th from 7-9pm a presentation called “Why Kids Kill” will be presented by Phil Chalmers in the music building’s True Auditorium at Casper College. that all public and professionals are invited to attend which will discuss how we end up with shootings, and how to prevent them from happening. “Check out the CPD facebook post and share, share, share!” In January there was a 400% increase in alcohol related crashes. As of April 2nd there is a 100% increase in alcohol related crashes compared to this time last year. Chief McPheeters stressed that prevention efforts should start focusing on emphasizing the WHY behind why youth shouldn’t drink as opposed to just telling them not to drink.
Seton House- 4th annual fundraiser is coming up on April 27th and will have a Casino Night theme. May 7th there will be an all-day informational meeting about a new program to be launched called Connections to Success which aims to offer support and services to combat poverty. The core value is to offer mentoring with no restrictions. For more info call Deanna @ 577-8026
The Science Zone- More monthly events for the community will be happening! Check their Facebook page!
Safe Kids- Safe Kids day flier was passed around. Whitney will send out electronic copies. Booths are still available. So far the event will be able to provide bike helmets, life jackets, carbon monoxide detectors, and lots of info. Participants include the CPD, NCSO, and Highway Patrol. There will be a “Touch a Truck” feel to the event outside.
NCSO- Will be at Safe Kids Day. Currently they are hiring.
DFS- National Prevent Child Abuse Awareness Month will kick off with a pinwheel ceremony and on April 9th.
WBI- April 19th from noon-1pm WBI is hosting a lunch and learn on infant mental health. If interested, please RSVP with Emily at WBI.
CWCC- Have been serving many high risk clients. Erin expressed gratitude to the NCPC group for being a great source of resource connections for their clients.
CPT- Meth Conference is April 10th and 11th. Topics to include Interventions, Disorders & Addiction, Trauma Informed Care, etc. Jean is looking forward to Eric Nation’s presentation and hopes many in the community will be present. For more info, contact Jean Davies. The Child Protection Team recently received a $5000 grant from the Wyoming Child Trust Fund. The Drug Endangered Children group is in the process of putting together a board and educational presentation.
Subcommittee Meeting Times:
Family & Parenting Committee Next Mtg: Thursday February 28th at 10am at Mercer FRC
Community Prevention Strategies Group Next Mtg: Wednesday, February 27th at 2pm at Mercer FRC
Next NCPC Meeting: May 7th 2019 at 1pm