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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Racine County Town Hall on Underage DrinkingRacine County Youth Coalition will be hosting a town hall event in Racine County on the topic of underage drinking. The town hall, which will be held on March 26, 2012 at the Golden Rondelle, will cover many topics regarding the issue of underage drinking in our community. We are happy to present Your Choice, a drug and alcohol awareness program for youth, presented by young adults who share their personal experience with the choices they each made regarding drugs and alcohol during their own school days. Visit the Your Choice website for more information. Parents and students are encouraged to attend. More information, including event times, will be announced soon.
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$33,675.00 in Synthetic Marijuana Seized in Racine County
 City of Racine police and Racine County Sheriff's deputies worked together in a large-scale sweep of illegal sales of K-2 (synthetic marijuana). The joint effort targeted 13 stores, K-2 was found at seven of those stores. The total estimated street value of the K-2 seized during the operation is $33,675.00.
Police caution citizens to never buy the substance, because it is illegal no matter who is selling the product. Some store owners have been duped by K-2 salesmen who say their company's reworked formula is now legal. Police say it's still similar enough to what was originally banned to still be considered illegal and highly dangerous.
According to the Racine Metro Drug Unit, the sale of K-2 carries a fine of $3201.00. The street value of K-2 is estimated at $15.00 per gram.
Police warn K-2 is very dangerous, and does not mimic the effects of marijuana. Police say K-2 causes severe hallucinations, intense paranoia and extreme anxiety.
The seized synthetic marijuana is on its way to a crime lab for testing.
fox6now.com
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Drinking and Drugging
"Crack is Whack!" Remember that phrase? I heard many people repeat it last week as they appraised the waste of Whitney Houston's later years and flashed back to her 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, when she uttered those immortal words. She was bristling not at rumors that she abused drugs but at insinuations that she turned to cheap ones. With album sales like hers, you didn't have to suck on a pipe. Sawyer wanted to know what Houston was on. Everyone wanted to know what Houston was on, and news reports after her death took unconfirmed inventory of the pills in her hotel suite, wondering if they represented the extent of her indulgences. No. By many accounts, Houston also drank. More than a little. In fact one early, leading theory about the cause of her death, which won't be known until toxicology tests are finished, was that a mix of prescription drugs and alcohol did her in. But while the drugs leapt immediately to the foreground, with questions raised about which doctors and pharmacies had provided them, the alcohol receded from focus, as it too often does. Wrongly, perilously, we tend not to attribute the same destructive powers to it that we do to powders, capsules and vials. We don't talk of its abuse in quite the same titillated, scandalized, censorious tone. Vodka isn't wack. Beer, certainly, isn't wack. It has adorable mascots - remember Spuds MacKenzie, the Bud Light bull terrier? It's advertised during the Super Bowl and on the sides of municipal buses. It even comes in cloying fruit flavors and brightly colored cans, with fun names. Four Loko, anyone? Because drinking is legal for adults, safe in moderation, the rightful font of epicurean reveries and the foundation of a multibillion-dollar industry with lobbyists galore, it gets something of a pass. Many of us like it - no, love it - too much to survey the damage it can do, look at ways in which our society could work to curb that and acknowledge that the effort isn't so very vigorous.
Click here to read the full article. |
Teens Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana According to a recent study, nearly one in five (19 percent) of teens say they have gotten behind the wheel after smoking marijuana. As reported in USA Today, the national study of nearly 2,300 11th- and 12th-graders was commissioned by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). It showed that a growing percentage of teens do not see marijuana use as a distraction while driving, with 70 percent of teens saying it is "very" or "extremely" distracting, down from 78 percent in 2009. Stephen Wallace, senior advisor for Policy, Research and Education at SADD, said the findings reflect a "dangerous trend toward the acceptance of marijuana and other substances compared to our study of teens conducted just two years ago...both in terms of the increased use of marijuana and from the perspective that many think this is not a danger." Other studies, like the University of Michigan's "Monitoring the Future" of 47,000 eighth-, 10th and 12th-graders, reflect this trend. That study revealed marijuana use rose in 2011 for the fourth straight year, with daily use at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors. Of those teens who have driven after smoking pot, 36 percent say it presents no distraction when operating a vehicle. Nineteen percent say alcohol is no distraction, and 13 percent of teens report driving under the influence of alcohol.
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New Studies Released on Cocaine and the Teen Brain
New findings by a Yale University team of scientists may help explain why the risk of drug abuse and addiction increase significantly when cocaine use begins in adolescence.Click here to read the full article.
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An Asset a MonthSearch Institute has identified 40 positive experiences and qualities that all of us have the power to bring into the lives of children and youth, which are called Developmental Assets. For many people, the assets have become a source of ideas and inspiration in the face of frustration and even despair.
 EMPOWERMENTYoung people need to feel valued and valuable. This happens when youth feel safe and respected.
5.Community Values Youth | Young person perceives that adults in the community value youth.
6. Youth as Resources | Young people are given useful roles in the community.
7. Service to Others | Young person serves in the community one hour or more per week.
8. Safety | Young person feels safe at home, school, and in the neighborhood.
Looking closer at the Assets
Feeling valued and appreciated is important to all of us. For young people, this means feeling safe and believing they're liked
and respected. These feelings can go a long way toward empowering children and youth. Providing opportunities and recognizing accomplishments helps young people build self-esteem. This in turn, gives them the confidence to share their ideas, knowledge, and creativity by volunteering and working in paid jobs. By paying attention to young people, you show that you value them. Empowerment is one of the eight asset categories that make up Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets, the qualities, experiences, and relationships that help young people grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
Here are the FactsResearch shows the more young people are valued and feel valuable, the more likely they are to grow up healthy and avoid risky behaviors, such as alcohol and other drug use, violence, and early sexual activity. Search Institute has identified four assets in the Empowerment category crucial for helping young people grow up healthy. Results for Racine County Youth For more information on the 40 Developmental Assets, visit www.racinecountyyouthcoalition.org.
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RCYC Member Spotlight---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Amber Richardson
Marshfield Clinic AmeriCorps Member serving Girl Scouts of Wisconsin South East.
In her own words: I began my AmeriCorps term September 6th and will continue until August 31st.
I enjoy eating healthy and being active, especially if dance is involved. I am also an avid knitter and enjoy making things for friends and family; I knit for the homeless in the winter months. I like to read and attend poetry readings and other art performances. This is a picture of me (on the right) and my step sister Allie.
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Next Racine County Youth Coalition Meeting
May 10, 2012 11:30-1:00 Mount Pleasant Municipal Building
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