Calm, Cool, & Colt-Connected
A student mental health & wellness newsletter...
October 5, 2020
Mental Health Awareness
Vote in 2020
Red Ribbon Week
Colt Connection Funding Restored!
About Colt Connection...
Colt Connection School-Based Youth Service Program
The School Based Youth Services Program (SBYSP) initiative was started throughout the State of New Jersey in 1987 to help young people navigate their adolescent years, finish their education, obtain skills leading to employment or continuing education, and graduate healthy and drug free.
Adolescents have numerous concerns and problems. Since a substantial number of teenagers have multiple problems that call for several different services, SBYSP provides an array of employment, health, and social services. Services are available to all youth and recreation is provided. In addition to the following core services, each site develops services which respond to local needs, such as on-site child care, so that teen parents can stay in school.
The major services are:
Mental health and family services
Healthy youth development
Access to primary and preventative health services
Substance abuse counseling
Employment services
Pregnancy prevention programs
Learning support services
Family involvement
Referrals to community based services
Recreation
One-Stop Shopping
SBYSP sites, which are located in each of the 21 counties in or near schools in urban, rural, and suburban communities, are open to all youth ages 10-19, and provide services before, during, and after school, as well as throughout the summer. The comprehensive "one-stop shopping" design helps break down barriers and bureaucratic roadblocks that too often prevent young people from obtaining services and supports. School-Based Youth Service Programs exist in about 100 schools throughout the state of New Jersey
Email: Lawrence-evans@crhsd.org
Website: https://www.crhsd.org/domain/59
Location: 90 Silver Lake Road, Bridgeton, NJ, USA
Phone: 856-451-9400
Mental Health Awareness
Just like we know that taking care of our physical health is important to keep our bodies strong and healthy, it is also just as important to take care of our mental health.
Mental Health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being, which means it affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress in our lives, relate to others, and what choices we make.
When we experience good mental health, it doesn’t mean we are always in a good mood, nor does it prevent the stresses of life from coming our way. But, it does help us cope with them so we can continue to engage productively in our everyday lives.
On October 10, 2020 we recognize World Mental Health Day. Stay tuned this month for more information about mental health and wellness in this newsletter!
What is Red Ribbon Week?
Since its beginning in 1985, the Red Ribbon has touched the lives of millions of people around the world. In response to the murder of DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) Agent Enrique Camarena, angered parents and youth in communities across the country began wearing Red Ribbons as a symbol of their commitment to raise awareness of the killing and destruction cause by drugs in America.
Enrique (Kiki) Camarena was a Drug Enforcement Administration Agent who was tortured and killed in Mexico in 1985. When he decided to join the US Drug Enforcement Administration, his mother tried to talk him out of it. "I'm only one person", he told her, "but I want to make a difference."
On Feb. 7, 1985, the 37-year-old Camarena left his office to meet his wife for lunch. Five men appeared at the agent's side and shoved him in a car. One month later, Camarena's body was found. He had been tortured to death.
In honor of Camarena's memory and his battle against illegal drugs, friends and neighbors began to wear red badges of satin. Parents, sick of the destruction of alcohol and other drugs, had begun forming coalitions. Some of these new coalitions took Camarena as their model and embraced his belief that one person can make a difference. These coalitions also adopted the symbol of Camarena's memory, the red ribbon.
The first National Red Ribbon Celebration was sponsored in 1988. Today, the Red Ribbon serves as a reminder and inspiration for communities to educate youth and encourage participation in drug prevention activities. Since that time, the campaign has reached millions of U.S. children and families.
2020 Red Ribbon Week Virtual Rally!
Turning 18? Will you be voting in November?
If you’ll be 18 by the next election, you can vote.
Make your voice heard. When we vote, we count
If 18 and 19-year-olds voted at the same rate as other Americans, we’d have over 1.5 million additional voters in the next presidential election, and more than 750,000 additional voters in off-year elections
Every 2 years, 7 million Americans turn 18 and become eligible to vote.
These "new adults" vote at a much lower rate than the general population.
This fall, one in ten eligible voters will be a part of Generation Z, who are between the ages of 18 to 23. All in all, young people ages 18 to 29 make up the most diverse generations in history and comprise 37% of the electorate in 2020.
Interested in learning more about voting and how to get your friends on board? Visit www.18by.vote. 18by.vote is a youth-led organization that was designed not only to educate and empower young people who are old enough to vote, but also those who will be old enough to vote in the next couple of years. 18by.vote creates non-partisan campaigns and programs to support teenage voter registration and voting!
IN NEW JERSEY, THE DEADLINE TO REGISTER TO VOTE FOR THE UPCOMING NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS OCTOBER 13TH!