MAY NEWSLETTER

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SAPCA Members,  
  

We are partnering with the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy to host the 2nd Annual Youth Leadership Conference (YLC) in August for teens (rising ninth through twelfth graders). We would like their opinion on when they'd like to attend the conference and what skills they want to learn. Please ask the teens you work with to fill out the YLC survey to register their opinion.

 

Noraine

IN THIS ISSUE

* TC Youth Celebrate Alcohol Awareness Month
* Take Back Day a Success in Alexandria (4/26)
*Emma West Awarded 10K Scholarship from Alexandria Scholarship Fund
*Nancy Martinez Wins Beat the Odds Scholarship
* Municipal Partnership for Violence Prevention - Brown Bag Lunch
* Fostering the Future Gala (6/19)
* When Should I Talk to My Children About Drugs and Alcohol?
* Family Checkup: Positive Parenting Prevents Drug Abuse
* E-Cigarettes are as Dangerous as Regular Cigarettes: CDC Director
* Two States to Consider Banning Powdered Alcohol

SAPCA'S EVENTS

TC Youth Celebrate Alcohol Awareness Month 
 
 

 

SAPCA's Above the Influence Club members planned and participated in alcohol awareness month activities in April. Over 300 teens tested their knowledge about the harmful effects of alcohol on the teen brain by answering quiz questions and winning prizes. Teens also signed a pledge, promising not to drink alcohol until they turned 21 years of age. Many teens created posters highlighting why they stayed above the influence of alcohol and other drugs.

 

Check out the album on our Facebook page!

 

 

 

 

 

The Alexandria Police Department and the Alexandria Sheriff's Office, with support from SAPCA, collected 188 pounds of potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at the National Prescription Drug Take Back Day.

 

On Saturday, April 26, 2014, from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M., the two Alexandria law enforcement agencies collected potentially dangerous expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs and other medications for destruction at Police Headquarters, the Del Ray Pharmacy and the parking lot of the First Baptist Church. The service was free and anonymous.

 

Over 5,000 collections sites nationwide participated in the take back day program this past Saturday and over 3,150 pounds were collected in the Northern Virginia area alone.

  
Emma West Awarded 10K Scholarship from Alexandria Scholarship Fund
 

SAPCA Board Member and T.C. Senior, Emma West was awarded the Class of 1965/Irving Lindsay Scholarship by the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. This is one of their largest merit scholarships, at $2,500 per year, renewable for all four years of college. Emma will attend the College of William and Mary.

  

 

Nancy Martinez, SAPCA Youth Board Member and Department of Community and Human Services employee, won this year's $5,000 grand prize award from the Alexandria Bar Association for the Beat the Odds Scholarship. The program recognizes the achievement and determination of local youth who are succeeding despite barriers and hardships.

 

Nancy will be the first in her family to graduate from high school and attend a four-year college. Nancy will attend Tennessee State University which embraces the mantra "Think, Work, Serve."

 

UPCOMING PARTNERS' EVENTS

 

The City welcomes your input at a Brown Bag Lunch on June 2nd or 3rd to discuss your crime prevention work. The City is partnering with International City/County Management by sending two employees to El Salvador in July, for the Municipal Partnership for Violence Prevention. Please attend a Brown Bag Lunch to discuss your crime prevention work, quality of life efforts, and community non-profit programs so they can be shared with our partners in El Salvador. See the flyer for more details.

 

 

You will sparkle at A Night Among the Stars at the Fostering the Future Gala at The Carlyle Club, 411 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria on June 19, 2014. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. Guests will walk the red carpet, greet the paparazzi, and dance with famous Hollywood personalities to the music of the Tower House Band . Special Stars of Honor will be Alexandria foster parents and major sponsors of the evening's event. 

 

Tickets are $85/ person (for adults only, please). Buffet and two drinks are included. You can purchase tickets via Event Brite , by eCheck or download and mail your reservation. Cost is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. To reserve your space or for more information, call 703-746-5663 or email thefundforalexchild@alexandriava.gov. Attire is Hollywood (and Alexandria) glamorous.  Black tie is optional.

  

All proceeds benefit The Fund for Alexandria's Child, helping foster children and others at-risk of abuse and neglect to enjoy the experiences most kids take for granted.  100% of the proceeds of your ticket will go directly to the children for athletic uniforms, class trips, music lessons, karate classes, graduation photographs and more. The program has no overhead or administrative costs.


NATIONAL NEWS

When Should I Talk to My Children About Drugs and Alcohol?
  

Check out this great piece on the website mommybites, in their Healthy Living section. The article describes how to talk to kids about drugs in four age groups: Preschool to age seven; ages eight to thirteen; ages fourteen to seventeen and ages eighteen and up.

 

Family Checkup: Positive Parenting Prevents Drug Abuse - National Institute on Drug Abuse
  

Families strive to find the best ways to raise their children to live happy, healthy and productive lives.  Parents are often concerned about whether their children will start or are already using drugs such as tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and others, including the abuse of prescription drugs.  Research supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has shown the important role that parents play in preventing their children from starting to use drugs.

 

These five questions, developed by the Child and Family Center at the University of Oregon, highlight parenting skills that are important in preventing the initiation and progression of drug use among youth.  For each question, a video clip shows positive and negative examples of the skill and additional videos and information are provided to help you practice positive parenting skills.  

 

Questions:

  1. Are you able to communicate calmly and clearly with your teenager regarding relationship problems?
  2. Do you encourage positive behaviors in your teenager on a daily basis?
  3. Are you able to negotiate emotional conflicts with your teenager and work toward a solution?
  4. Are you able to calmly set limits when your teenager is defiant or disrespectful? Are you able to set limits on more serious problem behavior such as drug use, if or when it occurs?
  5. Do you monitor your teenager to assure that s/he does not spend too much unsupervised time with peers?

 Check out the website to see the explanations and videos.

 

  

E-cigarettes are as dangerous as regular cigarettes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden told The Los Angeles Times. He is concerned the devices will hook a new generation of young people on smoking.

 

Frieden says e-cigarettes concern him for a number of reasons. He thinks they can lead smokers who would have quit to continue smoking, and can get ex-smokers who have been off nicotine to go back on nicotine, and then back to cigarettes. He is also worried that e-cigarettes will re-glamorize smoking.

 

He said people who use the devices can expose children, teens and pregnant women to nicotine through secondhand smoke. They also can be used to smoke marijuana or other drugs, he added. Studies about e-cigarettes' role in smoking cessation are needed, he said.

 

  

Legislators in Minnesota and Vermont have introduced measures that would ban powdered alcohol, The Washington Post reports. The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved labels for a powdered alcohol product called "Palcohol," but earlier this month said the approval was a mistake. Lipsmark, the company that makes Palcohol, has resubmitted an application, the article notes.

 

Lipsmark says it plans to offer powdered alcohol in six varieties, including rum, vodka, Cosmopolitan, Mojito, Powderita and Lemon Drop. According to the company, a package of Palcohol weighs about an ounce and can fit into a pocket. It warns people not to snort the powder.

 

Minnesota state Representative Joe Atkins this week introduced a bill that would ban powdered alcohol sales in his state. A similar bill is being considered in Vermont. Some health experts are afraid the product could be easily misused or abused.

 

CONTACT INFO

Noraine Buttar, MPH
421 King St
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.746.3670 (office)
703.887.8812 (mobile)
noraine.buttar@alexandriava.gov