About Us 

Community Cafe

The Cafe provides a safe place for food, fellowship, inspiration, and encour-agement for people experiencing hard times.

What: free weekly meal

When: Thursday at 5:30 p.m.

Where: First Presbyterian Church - Alma

Who: Everyone is welcome.  Kid's Kafe at 4:15 p.m. has special activities for children (usually every other week)

For more information, please call the church office at (989) 463-2940.

Quick Links

Nurturing Parenting Program

Our nurturing parenting program is a 10 session group-based program for both parents and children 5 to 11 years old that teaches:

      * parents and children to increase their empathy

      * parents nurturing ways to encourage appropriate behaviors

      * parents methods to build self-concept and self esteem

           in their children

      *  parents and children to learn to have fun as a family.

The parents and children meet in separate groups to discuss age appropriate expectations.  Then the parents and children have a chance to interact together.  The class emphasizes family guidelines and appropriate behavior expectations.

Our next class is scheduled for October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 10, 17, 23, December 1 and 8.  The class is held at the United Methodist Church located at 116 S. Franklin Street in St. Louis.  A light dinner is served at 5:00 p.m. with class beginning at 6:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m.

Please contact our office at (989) 463-1422 with further questions or to register.

 Managing School Bullying

By Madeline Vann, MPH

Dealing with the school bully is a much-stereotyped aspect of growing up - but it is a reality and there are ways to help your child cope.

Is Your Child a Victim of Bullying? 

According to a study by the National Institutes of Health, many children in grades 6 through 10 have either bullied classmates or been bullied by them, sometimes online or through cell phones.  The study revealed that 53.6 percent were victims of verbal bullying, 51.4 percent of relational bullying, and 13.6 percent of "cyber-bullying" on a computer, cell phone, or other electronic device.

It's important to keep an eye out for signs that indicate your child may be the victim of school bullying.  Following are some signs to look for:  reluctance to go to school, efforts to avoid going to school, repeated loss of possessions or money, evidence of a scuffle, loss of self-esteem, depression, and anxiety.

How to Address School Bullying 

Bullying is a complex situation because it involves not just the victim and the bully but all the bystanders who inadvertently support the bullying.  The intervention can't just be with the victim -- notifying the school is important because many schools now have programs that address the whole bullying dynamic.  This will also involve peers and school personnel in ending school bullying.

Bullies tend to target other children who have less social support, are less assertive, and have less self-confidence.  The best way to help your child cope with school bullying is to work on assertiveness and conflict resolution.  Teaching your children assertiveness means teaching them how to tell when someone is being aggressive, bossy, or violent, that it is okay to say "no", to trust their feelings about a situation, to be direct in requests and responses, not give up space or toys if they don't want to, and how to speak politely to each other and to adults.

Conflict resolution might include learning how to compromise, figure out a fair solution to a problem, ignore teasing or other efforts to pick a fight, and talk about feelings or needs in a positive way.

Whether in-person or online, bullying can be hurtful for your child.  And while there's no surefire way to stop bullying, you can protect your child by monitoring his or her behavior and providing positive parental support.

Gratiot County

Substance Abuse Coalition

(GCSAC)

Get to Know Lisa Cannon

Lisa Cannon is the new Substance Abuse Prevention Coordinator for Gratiot County.  She is excited to begin working with the communities and schools located within Gratiot County.

Lisa previously worked for a Prevention Consultants of Missouri located in Rolla, MO where she spent the past 10 years working as a prevention specialist/mentoring coordinator.  Lisa and her family moved to Michigan last year when Lisa's husband took a job at Central Michigan University.

Lisa and her husband have one son, Joshua, who will be a junior at Shepherd High School this fall.  Lisa enjoys spending time with her family and enjoying all the activities the beautiful state of Michigan has to offer.  

Lending Library for Parents and Early Childhood Professionals

What is a lending library?  A lending  library is much like an ordinary library in that you can visit and check out materials.  The library has experience bins, CARES bags, and story stretchers.  These items often include educational toys, stories, and puppets to enhance the work you are already doing with your children.  There are infant/toddler and preschool material available. 

The material is available for loan to early childhood providers and parents for a two week period.  Borrowing the material is FREE. 

Experience Bins - includes theme based toys and materials plus activity plans that provide ideas for developmentally appropriate hands-on activities.

CARES (Children Acquire Rich Experience and Skills) - Includes a toy and activity book that guides learning a specific skill; 24 foundational skills.

Story Stretchers - Includes a storybook and activity ideas for extending the book across multiple areas of development.  

The lending library is located at Child Advocacy,525 N. State Street, Suite 4, Alma.  Our office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday - Friday.  If these hours are inconvenient, an after hours appointment can be made by calling (989) 463-1422.