Youth Service Advisory Board

NORWICH YOUTH & FAMILY SERVICES ADVISORY BOARD MEETING November 13th, 2012 ROOM 335, NORWICH CITY HALL (860) 823-3782 - FAX (860) 892-6031 Email: nyfs@cityofnorwich.org MINUTES The Norwich Youth and Family Services Advisory Board meeting was held on November 13th, 2012 in Room 335 in Norwich City Hall. Those in attendance were as follows: Kay Eyberse-Coordinator Jodi Vara-Norwich Free Academy, President Deb Kievits-Community Member Janet Paton-Community Member Angela Rae Duhaime-Community Member Absent: Duncan Profitt-Community Member Anthony J. Gomes – NP Sorna Sarker-Youth Member/Secretary Soledad Busto-Juvenile Court Excused: Laura Konieko Vouise Fonville-DCF The meeting was called to order at 8:30. The minutes from the minutes from the meeting on September 11th, were distributed and read. The minutes were approved as written. Kay reviewed the YBS Programs~ • Norwich Youth Action Council- The NYAC group had a very successful Family Fun Night on September 25th with well over 115 Norwich parents and kids attending. The scheduled Halloween movie night on October 29th was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy, but they rescheduled a Christmas movie night on December 19th to feature the movie “Elf”, for kids preschool - 3rd grade. November 18th, they are scheduled to host a Pancake Breakfast/Silent Auction at the Senior Center to raise money for the post 9/11 Memorial. Tickets are currently on sale. • Girls Circle- Girls Circle began in early October for 2012-2013. It is being held at NFA after school on Thursday afternoons. We received $500 in program money from SERAC to support this effort and Kay wrote a grant to the Dime Bank to expand GC efforts, including a Mother Daughter component.  • Strengthening Families- The fall session of SF was cancelled due to poor recruitment numbers. We will hold a group in January and one later in the Spring of 2013. We are actively recruiting families. • Juvenile Review Board/FWSN- The JJ Alliance hired Immacula Perkins to case manage JRB and FWSN cases for the coming year. She began working in October and is in close contact with the school and the police. We hope to see 70 or so new cases in this upcoming year. • Cool Directions - We are recruiting and certifying youth for the current year. • Adult/Teen Leadership- Recruitment efforts have been very successful this year. Sherry currently has 19 adults to interview and recruitment at the high school level is on track as well. The teens will train after school at NFA this year due to logistical issues at Three Rivers the last few years. • Norwich Prevention Council Subcommittee- o The first of the Youth Alternative events will be held tonight at the Otis Library at 5:30. This youth coffeehouse event has proven very popular in the past and is the first of four scheduled throughout the year. The next dates are January 29th at Otis, March 21st at NFA, and June 20th at NFA. The plan is to add parent engagement pieces and information on the change in marijuana laws to the last two events. o As Kay has reported by email, the prescription drug drop box has been ordered but not yet shipped. When it is installed, the Council will need to decide what sort of roll out event it would like to promote. Multiple methods of getting out the word were discussed, including using the NPU bill mailing option. Stay tuned. o Kay reported that the Youth Impacted by Addiction group has been accepted at the Sachem Street School and will begin on the first Monday in December. This will be a 10 week support group, with a second one to follow in the Spring. o Jen will be running a second Book Club after the first of the year and Joanne reported only moderate success with the smoking cessation group at NFA and is looking for ways to reach youth and convince them of the importance of this effort. o Members discuss the possibility of running a series of workshops for the community on several possible topics: changes in the CT marijuana laws and how that impacts young people, stress and self care, and identifying use of K2 and other drugs. It was decided to explore incorporating these informational events into one or more of the youth alternative events in the Spring. New Business Updates ~ • NYFS will be involved with NFA in expanding the Food and Clothing Bank for youth at NFA. • Members at the table will engage a subcommittee to decide how to proceed with an MLK brunch this year. • Members will begin to explore funding options for the Diversion Summer Program for the upcoming year. Next Board meeting will be January 8thth 2012 from 8:30-9:30am. Room 335 in City Hall Refreshments will be served. All are welcome! NYFS is now on Facebook. Check it out for program updates, tips and upcoming events!