Health & Wellness Newsletter – Celebrating National Recovery Month!
September 27, 2022
September is National Recovery Month. More than 20 million people are recovering from substance use disorders in the United States. By bringing awareness to substance abuse and recovery, we can commit to helping prevent substance abuse disorders, supporting those who are still struggling, and providing people in recovery with the resources they need to live full and healthy lives.
Recovery doesn’t happen overnight, and we are here to support all that take part in the journey.
This September, explore the ways that you can bring awareness to substance use disorders and celebrate those in recovery:
- President Joe Biden’s Proclamation on National Recovery Month, 2022
- Recovery and Recovery Support from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
- Faces and Voices of Recovery
In This Newsletter:
CA’s Golden Opportunity Post-Convening Update & Materials
Access Materials & Resources!
On Friday, September 16, 2022, the
California AfterSchool Network (CAN) successfully convened
CA practitioners and educators in California’s
Golden Opportunity: Promoting Child & Community Wellness Through
Cross-Sector Expanded Learning
Partnerships event. This
culminating virtual event of the Whole Child
Health & Wellness Community of Practice, is funded
by Youth Opioid Response (YOR) California. The
purpose of the virtual event was to create
awareness about California’s Golden Opportunity for multi-sector
partnerships with California’s Expanded Learning Programs that
promote health, and mental health, and increase access to
substance use intervention and treatment for children, youth, and
families.
How Schools Can Respond to Rainbow Fentanyl
More students across California and the U.S. are overdosing from fentanyl which is increasingly being distributed as pills understood to be a different substance, sometimes in colors and shapes that appeal to adolescents and young children. Rainbow fentanyl can be found in many forms, including pills, powder, and blocks that can resemble sidewalk chalk or candy.
Case Studies Show How Schools and Out-of-School-Time Programs Can Work Together to Foster Students’ Social and Emotional Learning
A new report by the Wallace’s Foundation Partnerships for Social and Emotional Learning Initiative and RAND Corporation explores six case studies where schools partnered with out-of-school-time (OST) programs to build students’ social and emotional skills throughout the day.
Each study focuses on a different challenge that was widely
shared by participants in the initiative and provides an example
of what the challenge looked like on the ground and the ways
partners worked for imrpovement.
Teens, Social Media, and Technology 2022
Pew Research Center has written an article exploring the social media usage trends among teenagers. The article explores how the social media landscape has shifted with TikTok being at the top of platforms that teens use, as well as shares data on just how much social media teenagers are consuming.
Five Ways to Help Students Feel Connected at School Again
Greater Good Magazine shares how according to students themselves, they are yearning for opportunities to connect with friends and peers as they head back to school this year. Greater Good explores to help students feel more connected as they return to the classroom.
A 12-Minute 4-7-8 Breathing Meditation
Mindful shares Dr. Andrew Weil’s 4-7-8 breathing technique that can be used to for situations when one is feeling anxious, stressed, or may even have difficulty falling asleep. This easy breathing practice helps to release stagnant air in the lungs and find calm.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness
A new documentary about the mental health crisis among youth in America is now streaming on PBS. Hiding in Plain Sight highlights the experiences of young people who struggle with mental health challenges and focuses on the importance of awareness and empathy.
Offering Water in the CACFP
Centers and homes are required to offer water to children throughout the day, which is especially important in these hot summer months. USDA Team Nutrition’s has created a worksheet to learn best practices about making water available to your participants.
*Resource is available in English and Spanish.
Inequities in Alcohol Screenings Result in Missed Opportunities for Treatment
A new study from the Alcohol Research Group (ARG), a program of the Public Health Institute, in collaboration with RTI International shows that some racial and ethnic groups are not receiving adequate screening for alcohol use in clinical settings. Alcohol screening and brief intervention is a service used to identify and help individuals that are drinking beyond recommended limits. The study shows that only 11.8% of respondents aged 18-34 with public insurance were screened by a doctor.
We want to hear from YOU! Participate in the Power of Us Survey
Millions of professionals and volunteers work with young people every day in the many settings where youth play, learn, and grow outside of the school day. Yet, we have little collective information about this essential workforce. You can help change this!
Power of Us wants to know more about those who are still in the youth fields and those who left, so that they can explore, define, and elevate this collective workforce and their work with youth. The information from the Power of Us Workforce Survey can also lead to action, informing policy, practice, and further research to better support the workforce.
We believe that if we know more, we can do more!
Check Out CAN’s Other Newsletters!
Access the CAN newsletter archives to view past newsletters today! You may be interested in some of our other newsletters as well: