Accomplishments in 2022   

2022

YOUTH ACTION TEAM

• High School Youth Action Team Club – The club meets every other week with approximately 30 high school students who attended the first meeting.  
• Galvin Youth Action Team: The Galvin Youth Action Team meets every other week on Wednesdays with approximately 20 youth involved.
• Working with school administration, Elena helped send out a youth survey on social media and its impact on Wakefield youth, to Galvin & WMHS.
• Finalized You are Not Alone campaign clings, including a crisis text line, on the Galvin stairwells and cafeteria walls. Flyers with info on student support resources are now hung up with the help of Galvin Club, Mr. Cedrone & Ms. Tarness.
• Per HS Nurse Ms. Gilberti’s request, a few YATLs revamped the WMHS nurses’ resource center so the health materials available for the youth are up-to-date.
• YATLs have been creating winter editions of the Bathroom Buzz and hanging them up with the help of HS Club members.
• YATLs have been running Galvin Club with Mrs. Tarness and had a successful 2022 school-wide Family Feud.
• Galvin YAT Club creates monthly editions of the Galvin News Flush.
• Finalized our YAT SADD chapter membership and is linking resources & templates to YATL projects.
• Social Media Presentation at Parent University Youth Action Team members co-presented a workshop with Andrew Cedrone on “Navigating Social Media”
• Grace and Bailey started working on a Varsity Captains Leadership Training which will launch in time for the fall Sports Season.
• The Galvin Youth Action Team hosted a successful Galvin Family Feud on March 17th.
• Youth Action Team Leaders participated in Kick Butts Day on March 31st and had legislative visits with Senator Lewis and Rep. Kate
• Youth updated the Coaches Newsletter that was sent to all spring sports coaches
• Youth Action Team leaders and HS club members volunteered at four Galvin Night Spots in April & May.  These drop-in events provide a positive, pro-social opportunity for students to recreate with their peers.
• Galvin Youth Action Team leaders worked with Diversity Club to host Day of Unity at Galvin which featured a special guest speaker.
• Youth Action Team leaders volunteered at several community clean-ups organized by the Warrior Clean Up Crew at popular youth hang-out spots. YAT Leaders used this opportunity for collecting discarded vape products and other substance use debris. They categorized the products & put them in a slideshow. Riya and Abbey are currently working with DPH interns to collect follow-up data with focus groups, key informant interviews, and possibly surveys.
• Ahmed, Trevor, and Yash facilitated Bike & Ped Safety workshops with all 4th grade classes at Woodville School.  Students played a Kahoot, asked questions, and won prizes including bike lights & helmets.
• On June 13, Youth Action Team leaders had an information table at Warrior Pride Night.  Rising 9th graders had the opportunity to learn about the Youth Action Team and sign up to participate in the club next year.

• Town’s Safe Streets Working Group: Youth Action Team Leaders helped run a Bike Rodeo at the Safe Streets event on July 17th.
• Grace and Trevor are working on a Varsity Captains, Music & Club Leadership Training which will launch in time for the fall Sports Season. They are working closely with Danny Lumb, Assistant Athletic Director.  They are also working to publish a sports, music, and club leadership book.
• On July 27th YAT members hosted an Ice Cream Social at the McCarthy Senior Center.  They provided an overview of their programs & invited a Youth Council member to talk about signing up for the Snow Angels program. Youth gave seniors bags with Covid Tests, HHS Resource Handbooks, Snacks with Food Pantry Information, and other wellness resources. The event was very well received.
• 8th grade Leadership Summit: Youth Action Team Leaders worked with Galvin Administration to plan the successful leadership summit on August 29th with 100 rising 8th graders. 12 Youth Action Team Leaders & club members facilitated the workshops on healthy decision-making, leadership, and role-modeling.
• Grace and Trevor collaborated with WMHS Athletics to create a Varsity Captains Leadership Training that occurred on August 29th. They created & designed a 12-page leadership booklet. 
• On August 23rd Youth Action Team members & Wakefield Police (Officer Mike) conducted Sticker Shock: In partnership with local liquor stores, the initiative reminding adults to not purchase alcohol for minors. New stickers were created & placed on alcohol containers that target young adults.
• Alanna is working on projects with the Food Pantry to bring awareness of Food Insecurity to Wakefield Youth, and working with the pantry on better ways to engage youth in the community who want to get involved. On September 10th & 18th youth action team members prepped and painted the hallway leading to the pantry.
• Wakefield Health & Human Services was happy to help support bringing Breezy the Comfort Dog to WMHS. Youth Action Team Leaders are managing Breezy’s Social Media Account…@Breezy_theservicedog
• Hunger Banquet: Alannah has worked with the Food Pantry to organize and implement an OxFam Hunger Banquet. This event highlights poverty and food insecurity and took place on Sunday, October 16th at the Food Pantry.  
• Later School Start Times: Alexis presented to the Wakefield Board of Health on Wednesday, September 21st about the benefits of later school start times for high school and middle school students. The Board of Health unanimously voted to support this initiative. Alexis then presented (on separate occasions) to the Superintendent of Schools, Youth Council, Policy Subcommittee, and the entire School Committee.
• Most Blessed Sacrament Women’s Guild: On October 18th, members of the Youth Action Team will present a dessert-themed Hunger Banquet to members of Most Blessed Sacrament’s Women’s Guild. This activity will not only bring awareness about food insecurity but will also introduce the Youth Action Team to members of the Women’s Guild and show them some of the types of projects the youth participate in. Riya has been busy planning this event with Muriel Campbell from Most Blessed Sacrament.
• Inclusive Classroom: Erin set up a table in the teacher’s room at the WMHS with a variety of inclusive classroom posters and stickers for teachers to use in their classrooms so that students can identify safe spaces.
• Activities Flier: Trevor created a flier for students at the Galvin Middle School with a list of all of the clubs and activities available to them at the school.  This provided students with the information they need to easily join a club or activity which will improve feelings of school connectedness.
• Wakefield Town Day: Members of the Youth Action Team had a table at Town Day on October 8th. Youth Action Team leaders helped kids make stress balls out of Orbeez and passed out informational brochures about the dangers of vaping.
• Veteran’s Day Community Clean-Up: The YAT co-sponsored a community clean-up on Veteran’s Day at the Lower & Upper Common and the Galvin Middle School Courts & Fields.
• Tobacco Prevention Project: YAT members performed environmental scans of the Greenwood, Maple Way, J Lot, Senior Lot, and Galvin Middle School. Leaders collected a variety of items including vapes, vaping products, beer cans and nips. Alannah will now conduct a second environmental scan in local convenience stores where she will survey what tobacco products are available for purchase in our community. The goal of this project is to understand what types of tobacco products youth are using and where they are purchasing these products.
• Galvin Youth Action Team @ Youth Leadership Conference: Five members of the Galvin Youth Action Team went to Southern New Hampshire University on 11/17 to attend the New England League of Middle Schools Leadership Conference. Participation in this conference taught students effective ways to contribute to their community and help them to grow as leaders. Students will participate in a variety of activities including personal reflection, group challenges, and dynamic discussion.
• Tobacco Prevention Project: Alannah has begun to conduct a second environmental scan in local convenience stores where she is surveying what tobacco products are available for purchase in our community.  The goal of this project is to understand what types of tobacco products youth are using and where they are purchasing these products.
• Vaping & Mental Health: Riya created a display case in the high school to educate students about the negative effects vaping can have on their mental health.
• Healthy Relationships in the Schools: Due to a recent uptick in sexual harassment in the Galvin Middle School, Cory Mashburn of the Massachusetts Partnership for Youth, was brought into the school to talk about healthy relationships, consent and boundaries with the 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Furthermore, Cory presented this material to the health and PE teachers during their Professional Development meeting before presenting to the students so that teachers were aware of what would be covered and how they could incorporate lessons from the school-wide presentation into their classroom. Cory also presented this material to parents via Zoom a few days before he presented it to the students. This allowed parents to preview the material and gave them talking points to use with their children on the topic.

Other Wake-Up Coalition Highlights:

•  2nd year of Melrose-Wakefield Healthcare grant received!  The grant is focused on decreasing stigma and increasing access to mental health, substance use, and other human services to underserved populations in our community.
• Building Equity in our Communities training for Wakefield Social Service Providers, the first of two sessions occurred on January 26th, representatives from Wakefield included Housing Authority, Veterans Affairs, Health Inspector, Food Pantry, and prevention/wellness staff.

• Narcan & Fentanyl test strip outreach project with Wakefield Recovery Coach.

• Parent University:  Wake Up lead sponsor and organizer for this year’s event. The event kicked off with Lynn Lyons, one of the nation’s most in-demand speakers on anxiety and youth mental health. The documentary film Dawnland will be screened and followed by a Q & A with the film’s director. Wakefield educators and local experts will lead a series of workshops on subjects including school transitions, mental health, substance use prevention, social media, and academic subject areas. Wake-Up co-presented “In Plain Sight” workshop. Wake-Up also sponsored a workshop entitled An Evolving Understanding of Gender
• Tobacco Regulations Update: Wakefield BOH voted to update local regs to match state regulations. Increase minimum cigar price. Stores sell to who they know. Store violation now: $1K, $2K, $5K.
• TIPS Training (with Stoneham & Wakefield/Lynnfield Chamber) was offered to all Wakefield licensees
• Diversion Class was held at WMHS on March 3 and another on April 13th, in addition, youth have been participating in one-on-one follow-ups.
• Social Service Networking Lunch occurred on April 13th and brought together Wakefield and Melrose social services providers, they learned about substance use trends, ways to build cultural competency, and had an opportunity to discuss trends and challenges they are facing.
• Galvin & WMHS staff (along with help from NAN Project) successfully screened over 900 students in SBIRT (Substance Use and Protective Factors) and SOS (Signs of Suicide & Protective Factors) Screenings.
• On April 27th Health & Human Services partnered with the Wakefield Police Department Outreach Team (Clinician, Recovery Coach, and Family Support Officer) to host a Community Support Outreach Event at Beebe Library.  Over a dozen attendees learned about resources available to residents including behavioral health, substance use, domestic support, economic, food security, and other resources. Attendees were trained on how to use Narcan and were provided free Naloxone kits.
• Recreation & Health Department collaborated on a grant with Blue Cross/Blue Shield to build an outdoor fitness court. The fitness court will be installed at Moulton Park.  We are currently working with Town Administrator, DPW, Recreation, Planning & Community Development to finalize the project.  This project is focused around changing physical design elements of the community to build positive, healthy infrastructure for community members, in particular adolescents.
•  On April 30th Wakefield Police Department and Health & Human Services partnered with Walgreens for the bi-annual National Rx Take Back Day.  Over 250lbs of unused medications were collected & disposed of in a safe way.
•  On May 2nd, Catherine joined GMS Adjustment Counselors Andrew Cedrone & Jenn Hart and WMHS Director of Guidance David Robinson to present to the Wakefield School Committee with updates on the district’s mental health and substance use intervention and support strategies.
• On May 19th, we hosted our Annual breakfast at the Americal Civic Center. Catherine Dhingra, Wake-Up’s Project Director, welcomed community partners, parents, youth and attributed the coalition’s success to the collaborative nature of key partners in Wakefield.  Youth Action Team (YAT) Leaders, provided highlights from the past year. Next, Jason Stone, Wakefield resident & Wake-Up Leadership team member talked about the year ahead for the coalition. In October, Wake-Up will be entering the final year of the 10-Year Drug-Free Communities Funding. Our goal is to continue to seek out grant opportunities to sustain this work.  This year’s Wake-Up Community Impact Award was given to Andrew Cedrone, GMS Adjustment Counselor and WPS District Social-Emotional Behavioral Health Coordinator.  Andrew was chosen for his dedication and commitment to helping the Wakefield Public Schools increase social-emotional student support services across the district. Grace McHugh, WMHS sophomore & Youth Action Team presented the 2022 Trusted Adult Award to WMHS Guidance Counselor Meg Delory. Wakefield Board of Health & Wake-Up Leadership Team member Laurel Gourville presented Jill Kramer with Wake-Up Legacy Award. Jill, who is retiring from WPS, worked with Wake-Up early on to provide support systems for WMHS alumni who were struggling with Substance Use Disorders. Kara Showers, Wake-Up’s Youth Coordinator, presented awards to graduating Youth Action Team Leaders Riley Suntken, Bailey McDeavitt, Maggie Leone, Braden Carroll, Michael Leary, and Elena Greco.  Kara was also honored for her eight-year dedication coordinating the Youth Action Team, as she transitions to a new role with the Melrose Health & Human Services Department.
• WMHS Senior Night returned on June1/June 2nd. The all-night post-prom celebration was back at Dave & Busters after a two-year break due to COVID. Over 200 members of the Senior Class attended the event. Wake-Up Coalition staff helped Senior Night Committee coordinate the event, raising over $25,000 to make it happen. This event has helped change the culture of senior week, allowing for a safe, inclusive way for seniors to spend their final days as a class together.
• On June 23rd, Social Service Networking event focused on learning about current Housing challenges and resources.  Representatives from Wakefield Housing Authority presented an overview of housing units, application processes, and waitlist timelines. A Peabody-based Housing Agency gave an overview of current housing programs, government programs, and other support systems. On August 8th with Melrose/Wakefield funds, we provided a free training session for Social Service providers on Hoarding.
• Wakefield Health & Human Services continues to distribute Pocket Talk Translators including 15 to the Wakefield Public Schools, 2 Wakefield Food Pantry, 1 to Most Blessed Sacrament, one to the Wakefield Town Greeter Desk, and six to the Wakefield Police Department. LGBTQ Safe Zone and ‘Everyone is Welcome Here’ signage was also distributed.
• Catherine and Meg Delory co-presented at CADCA Mid-Year to nearly 200 participants from across the country. Workshop summary: In this session, participants will learn key strategies that enabled the Wakefield Unified Prevention Coalition (Wake-Up) to build a strong, sustaining partnership with local schools utilizing the seven strategies for community change. Learn how our schools went from reluctant partner to leading the way in prevention. From providing information to policy change, participants will walk away with concrete examples of how to partner with schools & build cross-sector collaboration. Coalitions will learn how to implement these strategies to raise perception of risk of harm, increase protective factors, and decrease substance use rates. During this workshop, we will provide information on how these strategies were initiated through the coalition efforts & funding, and have since transitioned to school lead or oversight.  Our coalition is proud of sustaining efforts built as we wind out of DFC funding.
• Partnered with WAAV to submit a Letter of Intent for Funding to the Cummings Foundation.
• On August 13th Wake-Up & the Health and Human Services Department helped coordinate the Living Well Fair with the Wakefield-Lynnfield Chamber of Commerce.
• Through the Melrose-Wakefield CHI funding, we provided training fees for a workshop on understanding and responding to Hoarding

• Recovery Month Promotion of local Recovery Resources. Health & Human Services staff worked with Town’s communication manager to promote Tracy’s services & other resources.  Promotions appeared on kiosks around town, in the Item, & online.
• Regional Recovery Event Occurred on September 28th at 6:00pm-7:30pm on the Reading Commons. Event featured resource tables, speakers, and a remembrance story walk. The story walk also included statistics of suicide and overdose deaths for each of the Mystic Valley Communities.  A large purple and orange flag was placed on the common, made up of small flags representing all of the deaths from 
• Wakefield Town Day October 8th 1pm-4pm (Wakefield Common) included a beer garden. Health Department worked with event organizers & beer vendor to put local recommendations into practice.  However, formal adoption of local recommendations by the Town Council (Liquor Licensing Board) is still needed.
• Wakefield Alliance Against Violence race occurred on Saturday, October 1st. Largest participation and number of sponsors to date, generating the majority of annual operation funds for WAAV. WAAV partners with Wake-Up to promote healthy relationships, harassment education, social media & bullying information, & other primary prevention strategies within the Wakefield Public Schools.
• Mystic Valley Regional Prevention Coordinator Hired: Sophie Greenebaum will be filling the role vacated by Liz Parsons. Sophie will help lead the regional Mass Call grant and work with the seven Mystic Valley communities to implement evidenced-based upstream prevention initiatives.
• Public Health warnings about Fentanyl working with the Public Safety to promote warnings about the local trend of fentanyl appearing in cocaine and other drugs, resulting in fatal and non-fatal overdoses. HHS department will work to promote free Narcan & Fentanyl test strips.   
• Diversion Class On October 12, 2022 Andrew Cedrone facilitated the first Diversion Class of the year for 5 WMHS students.  Suzanne Burns will work with students in one on one sessions.
• WPS Staff Trained in iDecide Diversion Program staff and school administrators participated in a daylong iDecide program training.  In the next month, we will work on adapting WMHS current Diversion program to fit with the iDecide model/curriculum. 
• Youth Mental Health First Aid Courses: Over 30 people (parents, coaches, professionals) participated & got certified in Wake-Up/Boys & Girls Club/Recreation Department’s Youth Mental Health Courses.
• Social Services Networking: On October 27th, over 30 representatives from Town/City Departments, Social Service Agencies, Non-Profits, and elected government officials participated in networking event. Participants shared resources and discussed challenges (primary topic was housing).  Representatives from the Malden Warming Center discussed the program, details, and their needs.
• De-Escalation Training: On November 3rd, this interactive training helped municipal staff and volunteers develop strategies for recognizing and responding to challenging behaviors. Attendees learned to use supportive communications and de-escalation skills for individuals displaying agitated behaviors. 
• ESL Family Night: On November 10th, Wakefield Public Schools ESL staff partnered with Wakefield HHS to put together a welcome/family night.  140 family members came out and got to enjoy food, meet school staff, “shop” for winter coats & gear, learn about local resources, hear from an immigration attorney, and network with one another. Health & Human Services & Food Pantry secured over 400 donated items to stock winter gear store.
• Grant Submitted to Winchester/Lahey to support new families who are English Learners. Wakefield HHS submitted a grant to help support new residents to Wakefield by finding community champions to help build and sustain connections to existing resources (from food pantry & housing to enrolling children in sports & after-school activities).
• Public Health Intern started! Lily Verna will be supporting Health & Human Services, Wake-Up, and Mystic Valley Public Health Initiatives through May. Lily is a senior at Tufts majoring in Public Health & Spanish.

• Fitness Court Installed at Moulton Park … a joint venture between the recreation & Health and Human Services department.  This initiative is part of our goal to create positive, healthy built environment here in Wakefield.
• Adult Mental Health First Aid Course: Twelve participants participated & got certified in Wake-Up/HHS/Recreation Department’s Adult Mental Health Course on December 9th.
• Diversion Class Completed with new iDecide Curriculum in early December Andrew C. & Suzanne B. are utilizing the new curriculum in both group and one-on-one settings.
• “In Plain Sight” hosted at the Americal Civic Center on December 6th from 8-10am, 12-2pm, 6-8pm. Only 35 parents/caregivers came through event, which was a significant decline from the event in the past.  However, parents that did attend stated that it was very informative and they took away tools to talk with their young people.
• Capacity Planning for Mass Call 3Part B grant: Catherine & Anthony C. participated in a full-day planning retreat on how to utilize the regional (Mystic Valley Public Health Coalition) grant funds to build the capacity of our local partners for doing effective & impactful prevention work.  
• Grant Applications: Catherine & team are submitting 3 proposals this month: Melrose-Wakefield Healthcare funding Year 3 proposal (Social Service Networking, Training & supporting new ESL residents), WEF Cummings proposal for Wakefield Public Schools (School Behavioral Health Assessment & Staffing), Cummings proposal for Wakefield Alliance Against Violence- (Prevention, Survivor Support, and part-time staff).
• POLICY CHANGE ALERT: One of the initiatives that the Youth Action Team started working on back in 2020 has helped lead to a STATEWIDE policy change. YATL Logan Cosgrove took the lead with a team of Youth Action Team members to work with and advocate to RMV Leadership and local legislators the need for Marijuana Impaired Driving as part of Drivers Ed Curriculum. Youth noticed a drastic increase in local and regional Marijuana Impaired Driving in the YRBS results. Logan (at Middlebury College now) is thrilled to see his hard work pay off!
• https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/12/13/massachusetts-registry-motor-vehicles-marijuana-curicculum/