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22 kids get healthier coping skills for
each case of prevention prevented
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During the Winter Blues event, we defined three goals for the year as 'the 22 Project'. People have been incredibly generous and two of three goals are being achieved right now. Here is an update: Goal 1 AWI wants to develop training for adults to understand wellness resources available in the form of social media and apps in order for them to become comfortable introducing it to all children. The virtual Wellness Center (www.mspp.whyville.net) is within a safe, educational website called Whyville. Since its launch in June, several thousand kids have found it on their own but we want all kids to find it. STATUS - Funded; initial design scheduled in June with the professional staff of The Home For Little Wanderers Goal 2 AWI wants to share its wellness toolkit with other organizations. Our teen mentors and consulting psychologists have practical activities in various formats, from traditional curricula to a virtual world. We now tune them for the needs of other organizations, most recently for the Rotary Wellness Project. In turn, the Rotary mentors are introducing some activities with the Boys & Girls Clubs. AWI is now working with Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD). STATUS - Funded; design underway with the SADD National Student Leadership Council to develop toolkit elements in their unique format. Goal 3 AWI wants schools beyond Massachusetts to implement the Boston Children's Hospital curriculum for grade 8-12, Break Free From Depression. It is currently implemented in two dozen Massachusetts schools, reaching 3,000 new kids each year. The documentary from this curriculum is used in many more schools to supplement various suicide prevention curricula (the most effective means of preventing suicide is depression prevention; failing that, depression awareness and treatment). STATUS - Partially funded; Train-The-Trainer workshops are being discussed with schools in other states but have not been scheduled. |