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Greetings!
Many organizations are gearing up for a busy autumn of prevention activities. Please keep us informed of your coming events, job opportunities, grant availability, and other activities! As always, your ideas and feedback are welcomed.
Yours in prevention,
Kari Lerch
Deputy Director, Public Policy Institute
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Family Unity Night needs board games, card decks, and children's books!
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Every year in October, Family Unity Night brings together families from our Milwaukee Brighter Futures projects together to have a family dinner and encourage them to continue to do so at home. Family dinners present opportunities for parents to talk to their children, which fosters youth success in school and reduces risk for engagement in risky behaviors.
This year's event will be held on Thursday, October 7th, and our theme is 'Family Fun'! We're collecting gently used books, games or activities that can go to building 'family fun baskets' that encourage 'family fun' and interaction. Research suggests that families sitting down together to play cards or other games can help strengthen family ties; build character; teach memory, math and reading skills; help with executive function skill development; increase strategic thinking skills; and more. Please help us give our families these opportunities!
Items can be given to Kari Lerch at Community Advocates, 728 N James Lovell Street, Milwaukee WI 53233. Please drop these items off no later than Friday, September 25th.
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Team City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance is putting on its walking shoes!
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The City of Milwaukee Tobacco-Free Alliance LGBTQ+ workgroup, made up of dedicated community partners working in public health or LGBTQ+ serving agencies around Milwaukee, is raising awareness to these disparities at several events this fall. On Saturday, October 3rd come see us at the 26th annual AIDS Walk Wisconsin and 5K run at the Summerfest Grounds. This event, produced by the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, is the largest HIV fundraising event in our state and has raised more than $11.8 million for the fight against AIDS since its inception. We're excited to have both a team of walkers and also a resource booth, where we will be distributing information on smoking cessation and sharing results from a community readiness assessment conducted with LGBTQ+ stakeholders around their knowledge and opinion on tobacco-related topics. Additionally, we have an interactive "share your tobacco story" activity, providing an opportunity for walkers to share how tobacco has impacted their lives or the lives of loved ones. The event schedule will also include morning entertainment and activities, continental breakfast and an opening program with special guests! Please join us in raising awareness to tobacco prevention, while raising money for the fight against AIDS.
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| Survey sheds light on student drug use in Wisconsin | |
A new report released Tuesday, September 1st by Rise Together reveals one in two middle school and high school students in Wisconsin who experimented with risky substances such as illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco are continuing active use and are at risk of developing substance use disorders.
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| Carrera Program video highlights | |
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| Beyond nicotine: the scary link between vaping and drug abuse |
 It's hard to go anywhere these days without noticing the boom in popularity of e-cigarettes or vape pens, which are devices that heat liquid-most commonly filled with nicotine-into vapor to be smoked. A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released last April showed that e-cig use tripled among U.S. teens last year. This isn't surprising considering aggressive marketing seemingly geared toward youth tastes with candy flavors such as grape and gummy bear. As it stands, e-cigarettes are not regulated by any federal agency, meaning there are not consistent manufacturing standards from brand to brand. Although marketing efforts also claim e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to smoking, some been found to contain nicotine, ultrafine particles, heavy metals, and cancer-causing chemicals.
A new CNN report brings up even more frightening concerns about the use of e-cigarettes and their link to discrete synthetic drug use. According to the report, water-soluble synthetics are being converted into liquid concentrate and put into device cartridges to be vaped just like nicotine and other legal substances, which is leading to a surge of synthetic drug overdoses. Because they are often odorless, it is nearly impossible for parents, teachers and even law enforcement to know what is in them without testing.
--Deb Heffner, Community Health Coordinator
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Employment Opportunities
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VISION FORWARD ASSOCIATION JOBS
Vision Forward is currently hiring a Teacher of the Visually Impaired and a Physical Therapist. More information available on their website.
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