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New Castle United for Youth Coalition

The New Castle United for Youth EXPERIENCE

August 17, 2021 by Inside Press

Two Greeley Students Describe How the Coalition’s Interns Made an Impact

By Janice Seong and Violet Christensen

This summer, a group of Chappaqua teenagers log onto Zoom and discuss youth substance use, eager to make a difference in their community. Every year, New Castle United for Youth (NCUFY) provides an opportunity for local teenagers to work on projects surrounding youth substance use and healthy decision-making through a summer internship program.

Interns meet in two-week chunks with six total work days. The first week of the internship focuses on learning skills such as data visualization and the components of successful public health interventions. The second week of the session consists of more project-based work, where we break into groups to create final projects centered around youth substance use or promoting healthy lifestyle choices.

While working as interns, we share our perspectives as teenagers and work collaboratively with our peers. Intern Ian Freeman relates that the internship offers a unique way for “youth [to] help out other youth as opposed to adults because people are more likely to listen to others that they can relate to more.” Michael Huaca adds that he got to interact with students that were “freshmen, upperclassmen, or students below [his] grade.” The internship held by NCUFY allows us to interact with other youth that we otherwise would not share classes with at school.

Last year, one session focused on finding a way for families to spend more time together during quarantine. The project produced a family cookbook; the main inspiration behind it arose from an activity in which we each had to find and present an item that reminded us of a moment we had with our families. In making the cookbook, we picked various cuisines and included recipes that would be accessible to all age groups. Another project we made emphasizing familial connections was a family craft booklet that included tutorials on activities like making bead bracelets and creating a family tree. Due to the limited amount of activities that were available during quarantine, we wanted to share engaging activities families could participate in together.

Another summer session project was a survey on what a typical weekend looks like for Chappaqua teenagers; its main purpose was to show that a typical weekend does not involve risky activities and drinking–contrary to what many teenagers may believe. Because there was not enough time to fully develop this project in the summer, we began to have weekly meetings on Wednesdays. Throughout the past school year, we reviewed the work that the summer interns did and continued working on a survey for Chappaqua teenagers to complete. The results of the survey show that a majority of the teenagers (94%) do not use substances including marijuana or alcohol on a typical Saturday. We plan on using the results to develop an infographic to share with local youth.

Alex Mancini, a summer intern involved in creating the survey, finds the weekly meetings to be beneficial. He says, “The most rewarding part of participating in the meetings is completing projects that we have been working on and putting them into the real world. Also, the idea that what we are doing could be helping someone in our community is very reassuring to think about.”

As the school year starts, students interested in NCUFY can get involved by joining the weekly Coalition Youth Leadership Council meetings held throughout the school year. An easy way to join is by emailing the Coalition Coordinator, at ncufycoordinator@gmail.com. For more info, visit newcastleunitedforyouth.org. Moreover, students can join Greeley’s SADD club, led by NCUFY member and Greeley Student Assistance Counselor Carolyn D’Agostino who works closely with the Coalition to inspire smart choices in and outside a school environment.

It’s greatly satisfying to have a meaningful impact on your community. NCUFY gives Greeley students the perfect opportunity to put our heads together and reach rewarding outcomes

Janice Seong is a rising senior at Horace Greeley High School and one of the Editors-in-Chief of the Greeley Tribune. A part of New Castle United for Youth for three years as the Youth Sector Representative, she enjoys giving back to her community and working with her peers to make a lasting impact.

Violet Christensen is a rising sophomore at Greeley and has been working with the NCUFY coalition for two years. She is also a member of Greeley’s SADD club and enjoys contributing to the well-being of the community. In her free time, Violet can be seen playing softball, volleyball, and video games.

New Castle United for Youth, a coalition funded through the federal Drug Free Communities grant program, aims to create a supportive and interconnected community for New Castle youth and their families. Each summer, NCUFY hosts an internship program for local teens to hear their perspectives and to empower them to support each other.

 

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Mentoring, New Castle United for Youth Coalition, projects, Quarantine, Students, youth

New Castle United for Youth: Educating the Community on Substance Abuse Issues

August 29, 2018 by Deborah Raider Notis

Uniting the community and making our younger residents feel that they have a safe place to turn can be challenging, even in our welcoming town. Enter New Castle United for Youth (NCUFY). Formed in 2016 as an outgrowth of the Coalition for Youth (CFY), NCUFY is a supportive, encouraging resource that uses youth-focused strategies to promote a safe and healthy community.

The committee’s founding members, Steering Committee Chairperson Lea Barth and Steering Committee members Leslie Kuhn and Victoria Goodman, were originally members of the Chappaqua Central School District’s R21K PTA Committee. They started attending the monthly meetings of the Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youth and soon realized they could re-invent the Town of New Castle’s drug prevention committees following this model. Working with members of the community, CFY applied for the federal Drug Free Communities grant which was awarded to CFY in 2016. This grant gives the Coalition $125,000 a year, renewable annually for up to ten years, to fund prevention work in the Town of New Castle.

“Our goal is to promote a positive message and help students and teens feel empowered to make positive choices. We want them to feel confident making social choices that are right for them,” says Barth. To achieve this, NCUFY brings together parents, youth, the Chappaqua School District, the Town of New Castle, police, local businesses, medical professionals, local media, religious organizations, and others to work together to apply data-based approaches to influence the way kids make social decisions.

“We are fortunate to live in an open and accepting community. Our kids have the capacity to accept the choices of others,” states Kuhn, who has helped to spearhead several initiatives to engage local teens. Last October, NCUFY partnered with the school district to bring the motivational speaker, Ty Sells, to Horace Greeley High School. Sells discussed the importance of developing positive relationships, and the value of open conversations between parents and children about drugs and alcohol. Dr. Steven Dewey, a NYU Medical School neuroscientist and researcher was another guest that NCUFY invited to speak at Greeley’s iLab and science research classes this spring. He helped elucidate the science behind the impact of drugs and alcohol on a teenager’s brain.

In addition to participating in Community Day, with a hard-to-miss, enormous “blow up” brain, and hosting a booth at the summer concerts, NCUFY funds a prevention specialist who splits time between Bell Middle School and Seven Bridges Middle School and hosts after school clubs and presentations. Goodman hopes this specialist will promote a “good culture shift and great prevention programs.”

Summer Interns Guide Future Programming

This summer, NCUFY hired two young professionals, a social worker and a counselor to run a summer teen internship program. With over 20 students participating, this group was charged with researching potential initiatives and information, as well as developing positive prevention messages that appeal to an audience of their peers. Barth enthusiastically notes that the “kids have been great.” Kuhn adds, “We have smart kids in this community, when you give them the information, they can process it and draw their own conclusions.”

The NCUFY Steering Committee lauds the efforts of the Town of New Castle, which they find to be exceptionally helpful to and supportive of NCUFY’s initiatives. The town raised age restrictions for buying vaping equipment and cigarettes to 21; smoking is prohibited in town parks; and the town has prevented vaping stores from renting space near Chappaqua schools. “Rob Greenstein is a doer. He is consistently supportive and responsive. So is Jill Shapiro,” notes Kuhn.

And NCUFY is growing. “When we applied for our initial grant, our objective was to change people’s perceptions about teen alcohol use, hopefully reducing the amount of teenage drinking,” notes Barth. Now, they are working to increase their social media traffic, to continue increasing partnerships within the community, and to get across their consistent, positive message of preventing substance use and abuse. Long-term, the Steering Committee hopes to build something that is sustainable; they want to build something that can be passed down to a new generation of New Castle’s parents, administrators, and influencers who can support this community’s youth.

While the Coalition has yet to determine whether they have encouraged a substantive behavioral change in New Castle’s youth, Goodman says, “All of this started a great conversation.” Hopefully, this conversation will resonate throughout the community.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: healthy community, New Castle, New Castle United for Youth Coalition, Sustance Abuse, youth

Vaping, Juuling and E-Cigarettes – What You Don’t Know Can Hurt Your Kids

January 14, 2018 by Inside Press

While our teens are well versed in vaping lingo, many are not well educated on the health risks those devices present. There is a further knowledge gap between what our kids know and what we parents do. Join us on January 18 at 7 pm in the Horace Greeley Auditorium for an informative presentation about vaping  featuring Robert Rhodes, HGHS Principal, Dr. Richard Stumacher, Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Northern Westchester Hospital, Carolyn D’Agostino, HGHS Student Assistance Counselor and Robert Greenstein, Town of New Castle Supervisor.

This event is presented in collaboration between ew Castle United for Youth (NCUFY), the CCSD, the Chappaqua PTA and Northern Westchester Hospital Center. For more information about vaping, visit the “vaping, juuling and e-cigarettes” link in the Parent Toolkit.

Chief Charles Ferry is pleased to announce that the New Castle Police Department conducted alcohol compliance checks at 17 licensed establishments and that all businesses passed. These compliance checks were supported by New Castle United for Youth, a federally funded community coalition whose mission is to create a supportive and interconnected community for New Castle youth and their families by building relationships and addressing challenges that our youth face, including alcohol and other drug use, for the purpose of promoting a safe and healthy environment for our young people.

The department’s Alcohol Compliance Unit performed the checks during the month of November.  All establishments followed state laws and prohibited the sale of alcohol to a minor. The establishments visited include:

Hilltop Wines and Spirits

Chappaqua Wine and Spirits

Rite Aid

Walgreens

DeCicco & Sons

Dodds Liquor City

Rocky’s Deli

Millwood Market

Pizza 238

Chappaqua Station

Spoon Asian Fusion

Quaker Hill Tavern

Le Jardin Du Roi

Chappaqua Tavern

Aesops Fable

Old Stone Trattoria

Spaccarelli’s Italian Restaurant

Working in cooperation with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the New Castle Police accompanied underage buyers who attempted to purchase alcoholic beverages.  Each location refused to serve buyers when they failed to present identification verifying that they were of legal drinking age.

Chief Ferry stated that a town wide alcohol sales compliance check was overdue and thanked the New Castle United for Youth Coalition for funding the initiative and for the work they are doing to keep alcohol and drugs away from New Castle youth. 

New Castle United for Youth’s vision is a community where youth can thrive and lead happy, engaged, and healthy lives without the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.  According to David Johns, NCUFY Coalition Coordinator, “In order to make that vision a reality, the Coalition, which is a volunteer driven organization, takes a comprehensive approach to preventing underage drinking.  Our hope is to not only increase awareness regarding the dangers and consequences associated with underage drinking, but to also greatly reduce youth access to alcohol and to encourage healthy lifestyle choices.”

Filed Under: New Castle Releases Tagged With: drug and alcohol abuse4, New Castle Police, New Castle United for Youth Coalition, Northern Westchester Hospital, Town of New Castle, Vaping

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