Cyber-Generation
Presentations
Sexting, Texting, Chatting...Oh My!
April 7, 6:30 PM
Granite Rose
Hampstead
Cell Phone Savvy
April 20, 6:30 PM
Raymond Baptist Church
Raymond
Cyberbullying: Whose Responsibility is It?May 6, 6:30 PM
Marion Gerrish Community Center
Derry
Internet SavvyMay 11, 6:30 PM
Seacoast School of Technology
Exeter
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Current News
Read these news stories bookmarked on CATS delicious. Visit the CATS website for news & events.
Making Change
Recovery Resource
A
free recovery support group for young people (14-21). St. David's Episcopal Church, 231 Main Street in Salem on Thursdays from 4:15 to 5:15 PM.
Alcoholics Anonymous www.nhaa.netOffice 603-622-6967Hotline 1-800-593-3330Al-Anon & Alateenwww.nhal-anon.orgTel. 1-877-825-2666Narcotics Anonymouswww.gsana.orgHelpline 1-888-624-35781-800-662-HELP24/7 Treatment & Referral SAMHSA Hotline 1-800-273-TALKNational Suicide Prevention Lifeline |
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COMMUNITY ALLIANCE FOR TEEN SAFETY
Safe Homes & Communities
March 2010
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Dear Friend of the CATS Community,
CATS is working with the Center for Life Management in Derry to host a Community Conversation on April 1st and you are all invited to attend! Join us as we participate in a national effort sponsored through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to confront underage drinking. Please read the article below titled, Community Conversations for more information.
We are also working with other community coalitions in southern Rockingham County to offer a series of public presentations on the "cyber-generation". A schedule is listed to the left. It is not necessary to attend all of the sessions. Please look for more information in the coming weeks.
As always, please contact CATS if you are interested in participating in any activities or if you have any ideas you'd like to share.
Best regards,
Sue Centner, Director
Contact Us
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CATS Community Conversations
Community Meeting on the Consequences of Underage Drinking - Part of National Effort
The Community Alliance for Teen Safety and Center for Life
Management are holding a Community Conversation Town Hall Meeting on
Underage Drinking on Thursday, April 1, 2010 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at
the Center for Life Management located at 10 Tsienneto Road in Derry.
Discussion leaders include representatives from Center for Life
Management, Derry Police Department, and Media Power Youth. The event
is free and open to the public.
Town Hall Meetings on underage
drinking will take place across America beginning the week of March
22nd. The Federal Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention
of Underage Drinking, which includes the U.S. Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration, supports this national effort to
increase understanding and
awareness of underage drinking and its consequences, and to encourage
individuals, families, and communities to address the problem.
Underage
drinking continues to be a leading public health problem in
the United States. Alcohol use among children and
adolescents starts early and increases rapidly with age. Results from
the 2009 NH Youth Risk Behavior Survey indicate 68% of students
responding had at least one drink of alcohol during their lifetime, and
39% had at least one drink within thirty days prior to completing the
survey.
According
to a report published by the Pacific Institute for Research and
Evaluation and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency,
"Underage drinking is a causal factor in a host of serious problems, including homicide, suicide, traumatic injury, drowning, burns, violent and property crime, high risk sex, alcohol poisoning,
and need for treatment for alcohol abuse and dependence."
Community
Conversation Town Hall Meeting on Underage Drinking is taking place on
Thursday, April 1, 2010 from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at the Center for Life
Management located at 10 Tsienneto Road in Derry. The event is free
and open to the public. Contact Community Alliance for Teen Safety for
more information at (603) 434-5251 or info@catsnh.org.
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Helpful Definitions Related to Internet Safety
FBI Cyber Division
Internet - An immense, global network that connects computers
via telephone lines and/or fiber networks to storehouses
of electronic information. With only a computer, a modem,
a telephone line and a service provider, people from all
over the world can communicate and share information with
little more than a few keystrokes.
Bulletin
Board Systems (BBSs)
- Electronic networks of computers that are connected by
a central computer setup and operated by a system administrator
or operator and are distinguishable from the Internet by
their "dial-up" accessibility. BBS users link
their individual computers to the central BBS computer by
a modem which allows them to post messages, read messages
left by others, trade information, or hold direct conversations.
Access to a BBS can, and often is, privileged and limited
to those users who have access privileges granted by the
systems operator.
Commercial
On-line Service (COS)
- Examples of COSs are America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe
and Microsoft Network, which provide access to their service
for a fee. COSs generally offer limited access to the Internet
as part of their total service package.
Internet
Service Provider (ISP)
- Examples of ISPs are Erols, Concentric and Netcom. These
services offer direct, full access to the Internet at a
flat, monthly rate and often provide electronic-mail service
for their customers. ISPs often provide space on their servers
for their customers to maintain World Wide Web (WWW) sites.
Not all ISPs are commercial enterprises. Educational, governmental
and nonprofit organizations also provide Internet access
to their members.
Public
Chat Rooms - Created, maintained, listed and monitored by the
COS and other public domain systems such as Internet Relay
Chat. A number of customers can be in the public chat rooms
at any given time, which are monitored for illegal activity
and even appropriate language by systems operators (SYSOP).
Some public chat rooms are monitored more frequently than
others, depending on the COS and the type of chat room.
Violators can be reported to the administrators of the system
(at America On-line they are referred to as terms of service
[TOS]) which can revoke user privileges. The public chat
rooms usually cover a broad range of topics such as entertainment,
sports, game rooms, children only, etc.
Electronic
Mail (E-Mail) - A function of BBSs, COSs and ISPs which provides
for the transmission of messages and files between computers
over a communications network similar to mailing a letter
via the postal service. E-mail is stored on a server, where
it will remain until the addressee retrieves it. Anonymity
can be maintained by the sender by predetermining what the
receiver will see as the "from" address. Another
way to conceal one's identity is to use an "anonymous
remailer," which is a service that allows the user
to send an e-mail message repackaged under the remailer's
own header, stripping off the originator's name completely.
Chat - Real-time text conversation between users in a
chat room with no expectation of privacy. All chat conversation
is accessible by all individuals in the chat room while
the conversation is taking place.
Instant
Messages - Private, real-time text conversation between two
users in a chat room.
Internet
Relay Chat (IRC) - Real-time text conversation similar to public and/or
private chat rooms on COS.
Usenet
(Newsgroups) - Like a giant, cork bulletin board where users post
messages and information. Each posting is like an open letter
and is capable of having attachments, such as graphic image
files (GIFs). Anyone accessing the newsgroup can read the
postings, take copies of posted items, or post responses.
Each newsgroup can hold thousands of postings. Currently,
there are over 29,000 public newsgroups and that number
is growing daily. Newsgroups are both public and/or private.
There is no listing of private newsgroups. A user of private
newsgroups has to be invited into the newsgroup and be provided
with the newsgroup's address.
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National Organizations for Youth Safety
Prevent Distracted DrivingDoing something to prevent the temptation of distracted driving is easy.
NOYS
has partnered with ZoomSafer, makers of mobile phone software that
helps you stay focused on the road. By installing the ZoomSafer
software on your smartphone, or purchasing a smartphone that has
ZoomSafer pre-installed, you can ensure that your family is less likely
to be involved in a crash due to driver distraction. Order ZoomSafer today!
Resource for Teens
Keep the Drive is a teen-led movement to take on the No. 1 killer of teens - car crashes. An average of 11 teens die a day in preventable crashes. But you can help reverse those stats. Learn more!
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Under Your Influence
Tips to Recognize the Presence of Alcohol and Drugs
How
can you tell if your teen is using alcohol and other drugs? Changes in
mood and behavior is one of the warning signs, but that type of thing
comes with just being a teenager, right? What about changes in sleep
habits, hobbies, and interests?
What should a parent look for? To learn more about the warning signs that alcohol and other drugs may be affecting the life of your teen, click here.
Research from University of Florida Finds Higher Intoxication Levels with Energy Drinks and Alcohol
Energy
drinks, favored among young people for the beverages' caffeine jolt,
also play a lead role in several popular alcoholic drinks, such as Red
Bull and vodka. But combining alcohol and energy drinks may create a
dangerous mix, according to University of Florida research.In a
study of college-aged adults exiting bars, patrons who consumed energy
drinks mixed with alcohol had a threefold increased risk of leaving a
bar highly intoxicated and were four times more likely to intend to
drive after drinking than bar patrons who drank alcohol only.To learn more about the study, click here.Resource ToolboxCheck
out these helpful links related to underage drinking, drugs, and drunk
driving. Create your own "parental toolbox" of resources when it comes
to talking with your teen about the dangers of drinking or doing drugs
and getting behind the wheel!http://www.parentsempowered.org/http://www.strongerinfluence.org/http://www.preventunderagedrinkingnm.org/Buzzed Driving is Drunk DrivingAll too often, someone gets behind the wheel, thinking it's OK to drive because they're "buzzed", not drunk. The
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants everyone to know
that buzzed driving is, in fact, just as dangerous as drunk driving. Buzzed driving is drunk driving. |
Get Involved with Safe Homes Network
 1. Can you spare one to two hours a month to serve as a member of an advisory committee?
2. Have you invited a friend to join Safe Homes Network?
Safe Homes Network
is a nationally recognized voluntary peer parent/guardian support
network with the goal of enhancing the safety net for youth and
reducing the toll of underage drinking and use of drugs. In signing a
voluntary pledge, participating parents elect to take an active role in
minimizing the influence of alcohol and drugs on youth in their homes
and to be available to other parents via a Safe Homes Network
directory.
In addition to enhancing youth safety CATS Safe Homes
Network is also committed to educating parents about current laws and
policy such as the State of New Hampshire's party host liability law,
RSA 644:18 Facilitating a Drug or Underage Alcohol House Party. This
law holds "hosts" of parties responsible for the actions of underage
participants and can result in fines and/or jail time. Safe Homes
Network is currently offered to residents of Chester, Derry and
Hampstead. Go to www.catsnh.org/safehomesnetwork.html for more information and the pledge!
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Join CATS on Facebook
CATS
has joined a growing number of non-profits, organizations, businesses,
and individuals by creating a page on the social networking website
Facebook. Our goals are to increase the opportunities people have to
access timely information about issues affecting families and
communities, provide a discussion forum for our members to share their
voice as well as a resource for local events.
The
CATS page on Facebook and the CATS website are intended to complement
each other as part of an overall effort to improve our communications
with members of the CATS community in an informed and manageable way.
Helpful Links to Get Started
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Community Alliance for Teen Safety is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Our
mission is to promote safe habits for all youth by increasing awareness
of high-risk behaviors, encouraging healthy choices, and fostering
community alliances in Chester, Derry, Hampstead, Londonderry, Salem
and Windham.
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