Vision
Racine County is a place where youth assets are increasing and all youth are healthy, involved and successful members of the community.
Mission
The Racine County Youth Coalition engages agencies, business partners, communities, families and schools, to promote and foster positive change in community practices, public policy, and youth programming in order to build assets and reduce risk behaviors including substance abuse among all Racine County young people.
Interested in joining the RCYC?
Contact Megan Kroes at Focus on Community for more information. (262) 632-6200 rcyc@focusracine.org Have information for the RCYC newsletter? Contact Erin Morey. (262) 632-6200 erin768@yahoo.com |
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RCYC In The Racine Journal Times
In a special supplement of the Racine Journal Times, entitled, 'Welcome to Racine County: A Community of Giving,' nonprofit organizations from around Racine, including Racine County Youth Coalition and Focus on Community, were highlighted for the work they do in the community. 'A Community of Giving is a special section the The Journal Times focussing on the many nonprofits in Racine County. Even in a tough economy, local companies, businesses, and individuals continue to reach into their wallets and pocketbooks to keep nonprofits running. With a heightened sense of rising needs this year, the community has responded in a spectacular fashion. Thanks to all of the residents for donating their time and money to the countless employees who keep these nonprofits operational.' |
Downtown Bar Park 6 Ordered Shut Down By Court
The same weekend Downtown bar owner Thomas Holmes surrendered all but one of his licenses, police were yet again called to Park 6 for a crowd complaint. That was the city's last straw.
Wrestling away Holmes' licenses through three due process hearings apparently didn't work, city officials said, so on Wednesday the city filed court action to immediately and permanently shut down business at 500 Sixth St. for good.
Under the restraining order, Holmes said he'll have more time to promote his campaign for alderman - he is running against 4th District Alderman Jim Kaplan this April - and mentioned he's thinking about organizing a protest outside City Hall.
Holmes denied there were any police attention-worthy incidents at his business over the weekend. Park 6 was not the problem, he said, the city is with its "evil will" to rid the Downtown of a black bar and its clientele.
"All this goes to show is the maliciousness of the city," Holmes said. "I gave them what they wanted."
Holmes on Dec. 15 surrendered all his licenses issued from the City's Clerk's office - for liquor, dance hall, soda water, non-intoxicating beverages and amusement devices - as part of a side agreement reached with the city in the fall in lieu of likely revocation.
Yet he still had one left, a restaurant license from the city's Environmental Health Department. City officials said Wednesday it had been their understanding that Holmes had not intended to operate as a restaurant so they had not sought to take that away with the others.
Then officers were called to Park 6 at 2:26 a.m. Saturday for a crowd outside the bar, according to a police report. The unidentified caller reportedly had a safety concern.
A responding officer observed about 30 to 40 people surrounding two people fighting outside the bar. The officer activated emergency lights to move people along and the crowd dispersed, mostly into Park 6, report said.
Police records indicated there was a DJ, dancing and music playing inside the establishment over the weekend. The city claims Park 6 violated state statutes and city ordinances regulating public dance halls.
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Racine Teens Create Teen TV: Racine
Click here to view the FIRST EVER episode of Teen TV: Racine, which is created and directed by teens. Or find the video on the RCYC facebook page. Don't forget to share the link! |
Survey Shows Cigarette and Alcohol Use are at Historic low Among Teens, But There are Continued High Levels of Abuse for Alternate Tobacco Products, Marijuana, and Prescription Drugs Cigarette and alcohol use by eighth, 10th and 12th-graders are at their lowest point since the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey began polling teenagers in 1975, according to this year's survey results. However, this positive news is tempered by a slowing rate of decline in teen smoking as well as continued high rates of abuse of other tobacco products (e.g., hookahs, small cigars, smokeless tobacco), marijuana and prescription drugs. The survey results, announced today during a news conference at the National Press Club, appear to show that more teens continue to abuse marijuana than cigarettes; and alcohol is still the drug of choice among all three age groups queried. MTF is an annual survey of eighth, 10th, and 12th-graders conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. The survey was conducted in classrooms earlier this year. The 2011 results showed that 18.7 percent of 12th-graders reported current (past-month) cigarette use, compared to a recent peak rate of 36.5 percent in 1997 and 21.6 percent five years ago. Only 6.1 percent of eighth-graders reported current smoking, compared to a recent peak of 21 percent in 1996 and 8.7 percent five years ago. For alcohol, 63.5 percent of 12th-graders reported past year use, compared to a recent peak of 74.8 percent in 1997. Similarly, 26.9 percent of eighth-graders reported past year use of alcohol in 2011, compared to a recent peak rate of 46.8 percent in 1994. There also was a five-year decrease in binge drinking, measured as five or more drinks in a row in the past two weeks, across all three grades. Binge drinking was reported by 6.4 percent of eighth-graders, 14.7 percent of 10th-graders, and 21.6 percent of 12th-graders, down from the 2006 rates of 8.7 percent, 19.9 percent and 25.4 percent respectively. Despite the declines noted in the report, use of marijuana has shown some increases in recent years and remains steady. Among 12th-graders, 36.4 percent reported past year use, and 6.6 percent reported daily use, up from 31.5 and 5 percent, respectively, five years ago. The upward trend in teens' abuse of marijuana corresponded to downward trends in their perception of risk. For example, only 22.7 percent of high school seniors saw great risk in smoking marijuana occasionally, compared to 25.9 percent five years ago. Similarly, 43.4 percent of eighth-graders reported that they saw great risk in smoking marijuana occasionally, compared to 48.9 percent five years ago. In addition, concerns about the use of synthetic marijuana, known as K2 or spice, prompted its inclusion in the survey for the first time in 2011. Surprisingly, 11.4 percent of 12th-graders reported past year use. There was mixed news seen in the non-medical use of prescription drugs. Abuse of the opioid painkiller Vicodin was reported by 8.1 percent of 12th graders - similar to 2010 and down from 9.7 percent in 2009. There was also a decline reported by 10th graders - to 5.9 percent from 7.7 percent in 2010. However, no such declines were seen for the opioid painkiller OxyContin. In 2011, the non-medical use of the ADHD medicines Adderall and Ritalin remained about the same as last year among 12th-graders, at 6.5 and 2.6 percent, respectively. There was, however, a significant decline in the abuse of over-the-counter cough medicine among eighth-graders, down to 2.7 percent in 2011 from 4.2 percent in 2006, when the survey first asked about its abuse. A similar decline in cough medicine abuse was seen among 12th-graders, to 5.3 percent from 6.9 percent five years ago. Click here for more information. |
Smoking Cessation (SmokefreeTXT) Support for Teens Launched
A new effort to help teens quit smoking will use one of today's teen's most constant companions - the mobile phone. Developed by smoking cessation experts, SmokefreeTXT is a free text message cessation service that provides 24/7 encouragement, advice, and tips to teens trying to quit smoking. The initiative is led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health.
Once they sign up, teens receive text messages timed according to their selected quit date. Following their quit date, they will continue receiving texts for up to six weeks - a critical piece of the SmokefreeTXT service, as research shows that cessation support continues to be important beyond the first few weeks of quitting. Teens can sign up online at teen.smokefree.gov or text QUIT to iQUIT (47848).
Nearly 20 percent of teens are current smokers, and most will continue smoking into adulthood unless efforts are made to help them quit now. Many teens want to quit, but few use evidence-based cessation resources to support their quit attempts. By connecting with teen smokers on their mobile phones, NCI hopes to more effectively engage young people in quitting with proven cessation tools and strategies.
SmokefreeTXT is a key component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' efforts to develop mobile health programs and is one of the core features of the new Smokefree Teen initiative (teen.smokefree.gov), an extension of NCI's smoking cessation website, smokefree.gov. Along with SmokefreeTXT, Smokefree Teen offers several social media pages to connect teens with cessation tools. In January 2012, Smokefree Teen will launch a free smartphone application, QuitSTART - an interactive quit guide for teens that delivers cessation and mood management tips, tracks cravings, and monitors quit attempts.
"With 75 percent of youths between the ages of 12 and 17 owning a cell phone, there is immense potential for mobile technologies to affect health awareness and behavior change among teens," said Erik Augustson, Ph.D., a behavioral scientist in NCI's Tobacco Control Research Branch.
To learn more about Smokefree Teen and SmokefreeTXT, visit http://teen.smokefree.gov.
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U.S. House Votes to Ban Synthetic Drugs Including "Bath Salts" and "Spice"
The U.S. House voted to ban more than 30 synthetic drugs, including "bath salts" and "spice." The Synthetic Drug Control Act would make it illegal to manufacture or dispense the drugs, ABC News reports.
The bill would also give the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) more authority to put temporary bans on potentially hazardous drugs as they are being investigated. The bill passed by a vote of 317 to 98, according to the news report. The bill will now move to the Senate.
Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, who introduced the bill, said in a statement that he first learned about the dangers of new synthetic drugs from his constituents. "Most shocking to me was the realization that these dangerous compounds could be purchased legally in stores across the country," he said. "I knew then it was time for Congress to move to ban the sale of these emerging synthetic drugs, which have thus far demonstrated no medicinal value."
Earlier this fall, the DEA announced it was temporarily banning three synthetic stimulants that are sold as bath salts. The ban makes it illegal to possess and sell these chemicals or the products that contain them.
Click here for more information. |
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New Year's Resolutions For Teens
It's that time of year again where we feel the urge to reflect on the past year and hope for all the possibilities in the coming year, and that often results in the all-too-famous New Year's Resolutions. A resolution is a promise that you make to yourself. In many ways, resolutions are like goals. Setting goals is a skill that children should learn, so please consider sitting down with the teenagers you know and help them create a goal (or goals) for themselves. You can help them start by asking them three questions: - What do you like about your life?
- What problem would you like to see go away or improved?
- What new things would you like to see happen?
So, as the new year approaches, here are some suggestions for positive resolutions for teenagers and some methods for improving success in achieving them. Not everyone is successful with their resolutions, but many people are able to make significant life changes that positively affect their health and lifestyles. Tips for Success - Be specific. Goals that are vague, such as wanting "to be happier," don't offer a method for achieving them. Have the youth write down their goals and then define specific, concrete paths to reach them. Have them set deadlines for their steps within each goal and encourage them to track their progress. The more self-monitoring that is done, the more likely the youth will succeed. And be sure to reward the teen when they complete a step.
- Keep it simple. Remind teens that keeping their resolutions will make them feel better about themselves. So, it's important not to make wild resolutions that are too difficult to follow. The promises they make should not be too hard to keep or used to criticize themselves.
- Plan ahead. There will be times when you don't feel like continuing towards your goal or when your enthusiasm gives way, so have a plan for how you're going to pull yourself out of that lull.
- Make it official. Have the teen tell others about their resolution, post it on the refrigerator, write a contract with themselves, or keep a journal. When they make their goal official, they will feel more accountability for achieving it. But of course, you must respect their privacy as appropriate.
Suggestions for Positive Goals for Adolescents from the American Academy of Pediatrics - I will eat at least one fruit and one vegetable every day, and I will limit the amount of soda I drink.
- I will take care of my body through physical activity and nutrition.
- I will choose non-violent television shows and video games, and I will spend only one to two hours each day - at the most - on these activities.
- I will help out in my community - through volunteering, working with community groups or by joining a group that helps people in need.
- I will wipe negative "self talk" (i.e. "I can't do it" or "I'm so dumb") out of my vocabulary.
- When I feel angry or stressed out, I will take a break and find constructive ways to deal with stress, such as exercising, reading, writing in a journal or discussing my problem with a parent or friend.
- When faced with a difficult decision, I will talk with an adult about my choices.
- I will be careful about whom I choose to date, and always treat the other person with respect and without coercion or violence.
- I will resist peer pressure to try drugs and alcohol.
There are many more possibilities for good resolutions, including improving grades, keeping curfews, helping out with chores, spending time with siblings. This is by no means an exhaustive list, so encourage youth to consider all possibilities and to make sure they break down their goals into "baby steps." They will be proud of each "check mark" next to a step within their goal and they will see this as progress. Click here to read more.
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Next Racine County Youth Coalition Meeting
Thursday, February 9, 2012 11:30-1:00 Mount Pleasant Municipal Building
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