| Our Towns |
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Augusta
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Chelsea
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Farmingdale
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Fayette
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Gardiner
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Hallowell
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Litchfield
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Manchester
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Monmouth
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Mount Vernon
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Pittston
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Randolph
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Readfield
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Richmond
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Vienna
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Wayne
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West Gardiner
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Windsor
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Winthrop
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| Important Dates |
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November 20, 2008: Great American Smokeout Contact Renee Page for ideas to plan your event.
December 1, 2008: Alcohol Awareness Week Contact Renee Page for resources and ideas to raise awareness of underage drinking.
December 1, 2008: HMP Action Team Meeting: Join HCCA for their quarterly action team meeting to find out how HCCA and your organization can collaborate to make our communities healthier. 4:00-5:30 at Medical Care Development, Augusta. FMI: Karen Tucker or 588-5012.
December 3, 2008: Worksite Wellness Program Series First in a series of programs to help support employees' healthier lifestyle choices. 8:30-10:00 AM, Evergreen Quality Inn & Suites, Whitten Road, Augusta. FMI: Amy Wagner or 588-5019.
December 8, 2008:
MAPP Visioning: Join HCCA, other community members, and providers in a conversation to create a shared vision for our local Community Health Improvement Plan. 4:30-6:00, Cohen Community Center, Hallowell. FMI: Karen Tucker or 588-5012.
December 8, 2008: Elevating School Wellness to a Higher Level Live Webcast 3:00-4:30. Register online at: ActionForHealthyKids.org
December 16, 2008: La Leche Leaugue Breastfeeding Support Unitarian Church, Augusta 10:00-11:00 FMI: Katherine Kollman
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HCCA Board of Directors |
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Mary Francis Bartlett
Rebecca West Dick, Chair
Cindy T. Flye
Rob Gordon
Chuck Hays, Treasurer
Bill McKenna
William McPeck
Kathi Wall
Jim Wood, Secretary
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If you know of anyone interested in this newsletter's information, please feel free to: 
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Welcome to HCCA's Newsletter!
The goals of this newsletter are to provide you with resources to make connections with others to improve lives. This focus of this issue is School and Youth Initiatives. Visit our website healthycommunitiesme.org for a complete overview of our current initiatives. Please forward this newsletter to others who you feel will benefit. If you or your organization would like to contribute to this newsletter, please send articles or announcements to the contact information below. Please tell us your ideas to make this newsletter better and more useful.
Sincerely,
Joanne Joy, Director
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Renee Page, School & Youth Program Manager
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
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Maine Grades Slip on Tobacco Report Card
On the 10th Anniversary of the 1998 Tobacco Settlement, report finds most states fail to adequately fund tobacco prevention programs.
According to the annual report card compiled by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Maine is still first in New England in tobacco prevention funding, however, we have fallen from first to sixth in the nation. Over the past 10 years, states have received $203.5 billion in tobacco-generated revenue, $79.2 billion from the tobacco settlement and $124.3 billion from tobacco taxes. But they have spent only 3.2 percent of their tobacco money - $6.5 billion - on tobacco prevention programs.
The return on prevention investment is undeniable in both health care dollars and overall quality of life. Annual healthcare costs in Maine directly related to tobacco is $602 million. The annual burden to individual households in Maine is $654 for state and federal taxes from smoking-caused government expenditures.
Currently in Maine, more than 20% of adults and 14% of high school students smoke and 2,200 people die annually from smoking-related illnesses.
For the full report, A Decade of Broken Promises, go to: TobaccoFreeKids.org. | |
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Be Active this Winter
WinterKids is the nonprofit organization committed to helping our children develop lifelong habits of health, education, and physical fitness through participation in outdoor winter activity. WinterKids began as a program that served 5th grade students. It has expanded to offer programming for students in all grades. Some of the exciting programs from WinterKids include:
- Passport Program for 5th, 6th, & 7th grade students. This program offers free or discounted rates for students and family members at many outdoor activities across the state.
- WinterKids SnowSchool: Opportunities for students to learn an academic lesson while having fun and developing a healthy lifestyle at the same time.
- WinterKids Welcome to Winter: Introduces Maine's immigrant and refugee populations to the joys and benefits of healthy outdoor winter activity.
There are many more programs offered through WinterKids. Visit WinterKids.org to explore all they have to offer and to apply for a WinterKids Passport. |
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MYDAUS/YTS Results Available at a School Near You!
Middle and high school students across the state participate in the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey or MYDAUS/YTS every two years.
The survey assesses alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use among middle and high school students in Maine. Survey results are used to identify the risk and protective factors that influence a student's choice of whether or not to engage in these and other harmful behavoirs. Results from the 2008 survey completed earlier this year are available from the Office of Substance Abuse. County and State level data can be accessed at: MYDAUS/YTS Data. District level data can be accessed by school officials.
Each district should have a plan in place that involves youth to interpret and communicate the data. Districts can then establish priorties to address youth alcohol, drug, and tobacco use.
Beginning next year, the survey will assess other behaviors and will be renamed the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey or MIYHS. For more information on MIYHS, click here: MIYHS |
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Coats for Kids
Davis Insurance Agency in Monmouth is collecting coats, hats, and mittens for the Coats for Kids Program. Donations can be made at the Litchfield Town Office or Davis Insurance Agency, Main Street, Monmouth. Please drop off your donation at either of these locations by December 1st.
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 Local Parents Enjoy a "Night Out"
Maine Humorist Gary Crocker entertained a packed room at Capital Area Technical Center earlier this month at an event organized by HCCA in partnership with several other non-profit groups that serve parents and youth. He challenged people to find ways to laugh about the tough job of parenting, and more importantly, laugh with their kids even as they tackle tough issues. Crocker had people in stitches as he told Maine stories and emphasized that laughter is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
The program, created for Augusta-area parents of teens, also offered small group sessions on areas of special concern:
- keeping your child alcohol and drug free
- teen sexuality
- Internet safety
- keeping the lines of communication open
- the role of faith in raising teens
About 60 people attended and enjoyed a free meal and babysitting provided by CATC students. The event was co-sponsored by the Maine Parent Federation, the Maine Family Planning Association, the KVCAP Family Enrichment Councils, and the Augusta Boys & Girls Club for Teens. Business sponsors included Kennebec Savings Bank, Augusta Rotary, G&E Roofing, and the China Dine-ah.
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Mini-Grants, Free Training, and More
Youth Voices Program: Start, or continue supporting, a Youth Voices group by obtaining a grant from HCCA. The Youth Voices program is a proven strategy for identifying, organizing, and supporting youth who choose not to use tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs and help them take action to prevent substance use among youth in our communities. HCCA supports the involvement of youth in tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use prevention by offering mini-grants to host organizations that want to create new or sustain existing Youth Voices programs. Funding supports a stipend for an adult leader and out-of-pocket program expenses. Funding is limited and distributed on a first come, first served basis. For more information, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020.
School Health Leadership Councils: HCCA offers mini-grants to support the development and coordination of School Health Leadership Councils (SHLC) for Coordinated School Health Programming (CSHP). CSHP is a proven effective strategy for improving the health of our children. Grant funds may be used to stipend a coordinator and provide other supports to develop the SHLC. Funding is limited and distributed on a first come, first served basis. For more information about Coordinated School Health Programming, go to: www.mainecshp.com. For mini-grant applications and information, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020.
Wellness Policy Assessment: The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires that all schools that participate in the Federally-funded National School Lunch Program create, implement, and enforce a Local Wellness Policy that addresses physical activity and nutrition in an effort to combat obesity and prevent chronic disease. One of the requirements of the Federal law is that Local Wellness Policies are enforced and monitored. HCCA can assist school districts in evaluating their Local Wellness Policies to ensure they are being followed and enforced and to also assess the policy's strengths and weaknesses. If you are interested in evaluating your district's Local Wellness Policy, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020.
Take Time! Training: Take Time! is a proven strategy to increase the amount of physical activity students receive during the school day by integrating movement into daily lessons. Take Time! has been successfully implemented across the state as a method to combat the rising incidence of childhood obesity and chronic disease. For more information on Take Time! go to: www.maine-nutrition.org. If your school would like to host a free Take Time! training, receive free materials, and participate in an incentive program, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020.
Not On Tobacco: Not On Tobacco, or N-O-T, is an effective voluntary tobacco treatment program designed especially for teens. N-O-T's 10-session curriculum works to increase healthy lifestyle behaviors such as nutrition and exercise and improve life skills such as stress management. For more information on the N-O-T program, go to the American Lung Association's Tobacco Control and Teens webpage at: www.lungusa.org. If you or someone from your school district is interested in participating in a N-O-T training, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020. Tobacco Basic Skills & Intensive Treatment Training: HCCA sponsors individuals who would like to participate in Basic Skills and/or Intensive Treatment trainings offered by The Center for Tobacco Independence (CTI). Once individuals are trained, they can offer brief interventions or intensive counseling to tobacco users. Trainings are offered throughout the year. For more information about CTI, go to: www.tobaccoindependence.org. If you would like to participate in a training, contact Joanne Joy at: j.joy@healthycommunitiesme.org or 207-588-5011.
LifeSkills™: LifeSkills™ is an in-school substance abuse and violence prevention program for upper elementary and middle school students. LifeSkills™ is an evidence-based curriculum that provides students with the necessary skills to resist social pressure to smoke, drink, and use drugs. It helps them develop greater self-esteem, self-mastery, and self-confidence. LifeSkills™ enables children to effectively cope with social anxiety, increase their knowledge of the immediate and long-term consequences of substance abuse, and enhance cognitive and behavioral competency to reduce and prevent a variety of health risk behaviors. If you would like to learn more about LifeSkills™ go to: www.lifeskillstraining.com, or if you are interested in participating in a training and implementing LifeSkills™ in your school district, contact Renee Page at: rpage@mcd.org or 207-588-5020.
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Thank you for your commitment to the health and wellbeing of our children. Please contact us if we can be of assistance in supporting your southern Kennebec communities' quality of life.
Sincerely,
Joanne Joy, Director
&
Renee Page, School/Youth Program Manager
Healthy Communities of the Capital Area
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