SAPCA's July 2023 Newsletter

July 2023

Announcements

Registration is Open for the 2023 Alexandria Youth Leadership Conference!

Registration is open for the 10th annual Alexandria Youth Leadership Conference (YLC)! This free conference is open to rising 9th through 12th graders residing in the City of Alexandria. This year’s conference theme is Find Your Voice, Find Your Strength, Find Your Future. Click here to register.

The conference will be held August 8 and 9, 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., and August 10, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., at First Baptist Church of Alexandria (2932 King St.) and youth who attend the conference in its entirety are eligible to receive a $20 gift card. Click here to view and share the flyer for this event. If you have any questions, please contact Felicia Parks at felicia.parks@alexandriava.gov.

The YLC empowers emerging young leaders by providing training opportunities and connecting them to resources in their community. This event is hosted by SAPCA, the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP), the Alexandria Sexual Assault Center, and the Alexandria Library.

Dear Community Leaders,

The Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition of Alexandria (SAPCA) and the Alexandria Campaign on Adolescent Pregnancy (ACAP) cordially invite you to an in-person Networking Event with some of Alexandria's rising youth leaders on Thursday, August 10, from 4:00-5:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church (2932 King St.) Please register here by August 3.

In partnership with the Alexandria Sexual Assault Center and the Alexandria Library, SAPCA and ACAP are sponsoring the 10th annual Alexandria Youth Leadership Conference, an event to teach youth how to engage, lead, and advocate for issues in our community. We anticipate between 25 and 30 young leaders will participate in the leadership conference this year.

In addition to skill-building, the Youth Leadership Conference helps to strengthen essential building blocks for young people, or Developmental Assets, including a sense of feeling valued by their community, self-esteem, recognizing themselves as a resource to others and planning and decision-making.

The Youth Leadership Conference is excited to continue our annual Networking Event to encourage youth civic engagement in Alexandria. Our goal is to facilitate youth-adult partnerships by providing a forum in which organizations can connect directly with Alexandria's youth leaders. Your participation as a leader in the Alexandria community is invaluable. Youth will have an opportunity to talk with you and other adult community leaders and learn about volunteer and leadership opportunities available in Alexandria. Youth have much to learn from your experience and are deeply connected to the work you are doing in our City.

This is also your opportunity to recruit youth who have the necessary skills to participate in your organization in a leadership position such as a member of your Board of Directors, Commission member or Committee Chair. Many Alexandria boards, commissions and community groups have space reserved for youth representatives or could be stronger if youth voices were included in the group. Unfortunately, many youth spaces remain consistently unfilled, or organizations do not think of including youth leaders on their boards. Our aim is to help build a network of youth leaders who can serve effectively and to help boards, commissions and community groups understand how to benefit from youth voices. We believe the first step is to have community leaders talk with youth to learn about their abilities and interests and to see where their voices and skills could fit within our community. To accomplish this, SAPCA and ACAP will work with you to:

Meet Alexandria's youth leaders at this Networking Event and throughout the year.
Help orient you as to why it is important or beneficial to have youth leaders on Alexandria's boards, commissions and work groups, and
Work with you to make sure that our city's boards and commissions know how to engage youth who serve with your adult leadership.

We hope you can join us for this important event. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact one of us listed below.

Sincerely,

June Outreach Recap

This spring, SAPCA partnered with ACAP, the Sexual Assault Center, the Keep It 360 Peer Advocates and volunteers to conduct outreach at the Pride Fair on June 3 and Family Fun Day on June 10.

During these events, team members and volunteers shared information about the Developmental Assets, key factors that support healthy youth development, and distributed English and Spanish copies of the Parent Handbook, a resource guide created by Operation Parent that raises awareness about the latest trends, warning signs, and tips for effective parent/child communication.

We are thankful for the wonderful volunteers that supported outreach efforts during these events. Please join us in recognizing Allen Lomax, Keiry Cortez, a rising freshman at Alexandria City High School (ACHS), and Maureen McNulty for their help engaging with families.

Interested in volunteering to support outreach efforts? Contact Emma Beall at emma.beall@alexandriava.gov to learn about upcoming opportunities to get involved.

SAPCA Board of Directors Holds Annual Retreat

On June 26, the SAPCA Board of Directors held their annual Board Retreat. Board members reviewed SAPCA's accomplishments for the past year, which include:

Presenting 68 Facts and Consequences presentations to 4,425 youth at Alexandria City High School (ACHS) King Street Campus, ACHS Minnie Howard Campus, ACHS Satellite Campus, Francis C. Hammond Middle School, George Washington Middle School, Jefferson Houston PreK-8 IB School, Patrick Henry K-8 School, the Juvenile Detention Center, Bishop Ireton High School, and Commonwealth Academy;
Engaging over 2,500 youth and adults through in-person outreach events in the spring of 2023;
Safely disposing of 1,554 pounds of medication collected during two drug take back events and through the City’s three permanent medication drop boxes; and
Distributing 636 locking medicine boxes to Alexandria residents to prevent medication misuse and abuse.

Board members also provided feedback to prioritize the most important initiatives for the coming year and recognized SAPCA Board Member Kate Harbour, a recent graduate of ACHS. Kate has served on the Board of Directors since 2019 and will be attending Elon University in the fall. Congratulations, Kate!

SAPCA appreciates our Board members for sharing their time and ideas to work together to prevent youth substance use in Alexandria. If you are interested in getting involved with SAPCA, please contact Emma Beall at emma.beall@alexandriava.gov.

Keep It 360 Peer Advocate Program Updates

Please join SAPCA in welcoming new and returning Keep It 360 Peer Advocates, a group of Alexandria youth who work closely with SAPCA, ACAP, and the Alexandria Sexual Assault Center to support prevention and outreach efforts.

New Peer Advocates:

Kahleia Green, a rising freshman at ACHS
Larry Cox, a rising freshman at ACHS
Odalis Zelaya, a rising freshman at ACHS
Alex Zhi McMillan, a rising sophomore at ACHS
Khamille Muhammad, a rising sophomore at ACHS
Kimoree Easter, a rising sophomore at ACHS
Salma Al Gourchal, a rising senior at ACHS

Returning Peer Advocates:

Chloe Yokitis, a rising senior at ACHS
Yaerelin Molina, a student at Northern Virginia Community College

After the school year wrapped up, the Peer Advocates attended a week-long planning retreat to receive training about providing education, information, and support to Alexandria teens about prevention topics. During this retreat, the Peer Advocates also planned activities that will take place during the upcoming school year. SAPCA looks forward to continuing to work with our partners and this dedicated team of youth to plan and implement youth-led activities.

Fact of the Month: Tips for a Safe Summer

Each month, SAPCA will be highlighting a key fact to support our community to prevent youth substance use. This month, we will be highlighting tips to support youth in your life to have a safe and substance-free summer.

Check out these tips from Prevention Action Alliance to help plan for a substance-free summer:

Set summertime rules

Be clear about your rules for teens who spend time unsupervised with their friends and your expectations around drinking, smoking, and other risky behaviors. Ensure your teen knows the consequences for breaking the rules and that you will enforce the consequences. Remember that consequences should be “reasonable, enforceable, and short-lived.” Try to notice and point out when they make smart decisions and follow the rules – positive reinforcement can go a long way.

Encourage healthy risk-taking

Teenagers take risks as part of their natural identity development. Risks don’t have to be dangerous, like vaping or drinking. Healthy risk-taking can build teens’ confidence and develop essential life skills. Work with your teen to brainstorm safe and healthy ways that they can express their energy and desire to take risks. Ask about what excites them and work to find a healthy challenge that produces the same feeling of excitement that they get from taking a risk.

Help them get active in the community

Encourage your teen to spend time with friends while participating in your community. Look for opportunities for them to volunteer or become involved with civic activities in the community. Volunteering can allow teenagers to develop relationships and social skills and be physically active. Encouraging their involvement in the community can also help them to feel valued, which can decrease their likelihood of using substances.

Additionally, Ask, Listen, Learn created this list of 20 fun summer activities to do that are also great opportunities to start conversations around healthy decision making and living a healthy lifestyle.

Explore more ways to start (or continue) conversations with teens in your life about staying healthy this summer and year-round here.

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Upcoming Events & Resources

From June through August, visit Alexandria Library locations in person and online to participate in SummerQuest. Through this free reading program, participants of all ages, including teens and adults, can earn prizes for reading and completing activities, including free books and tickets to a Washington Nationals game.

Click here to view the full brochure, available in English, Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, and Dari/Farsi.

Supercharge Your Summer: Free Planet Fitness High School Summer Pass '23

Now through August 31, teens between the ages of 14-19 can work out at Planet Fitness for free all summer long! Follow these easy steps to register for your free High School Summer Pass membership and get started supercharging your summer.

Register here.
Download the Planet Fitness App to get your digital club pass.
Visit your home club now through August 31 for free!

Teens who register can also help win a grant for their school and participate in a video contest for a chance to win a scholarship. Learn more here.

City of Alexandria Launches New Tool to Combat Inequities Throughout Community

The City of Alexandria's Race & Social Equity Office recently released three new tools that highlight the inequities in Alexandria and ways organizations can begin to address them.

The Equity Index Map identifies disparities in key socioeconomic outcomes to help staff and community partners make equitable and inclusive decisions.

The Racial Equity Tool is a step-by-step interactive guide to help you and your team apply a racial equity lens to your work. It includes definitions of racial equity and related terms, a self-assessment, and practical case study.

The Research & Data Equity Guide helps users think strategically and equitably about how to design program, policies and initiatives that address the root causes of social challenges; how to design inclusive data collection and evaluation tools; and how to clearly and effectively communicate the impacts of their work to stakeholders.

In 2021, City Council adopted the ALL Alexandria Resolution, the commitment by City leaders to race and social equity through increased knowledge, understanding, and dynamic engagement throughout our entire community. View the ALL Alexandria Resolution video.

For more information about ALL Alexandria, visit alexandriava.gov/Equity.

Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria 2023 Call for Grant Proposals

The Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria is seeking grant proposals from qualified nonprofit organizations to improve the health and well-being of youth and adults who live, work and play in the City of Alexandria. Proposals must advance specific goals, strategies and tactics in the Alexandria Community Health Improvement Plan in one of the Plan's three priority areas:

Housing
Mental Health
Poverty

Grant proposals must identify the specific strategy or strategies and tactic or tactics within the selected priority area the proposal focuses on. The strategies and tactics within each priority area are identified in the Community Health Improvement Plan. New and innovative tactics, not included in the Plan, will be considered as long as there is a written narrative showing the direct connection between the innovative tactic and its contribution to achieving the strategy or strategies identified in the proposal.

In addition, proposals should describe how funding will be used to promote equity or address inequities or disparities.

Important Dates

Grant Proposals Due: By 11:59 p.m., August 14, 2023

Awards Announced: September 21, 2023

Grant Period Begins: October 1, 2023

Grant Ends: September 30, 2024

Final Grant Report Due: October 30, 2024

Applicants must be nonprofit organizations with a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS or be sponsored by a fiscal agent with a 501(c)(3) status. Proposals must demonstrate that funding will be used to benefit adults and/or youth who live, work and play in the City of Alexandria. Successful applicants will be required to submit a final report using the report template provided by the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria. The minimum funding request is $2,500 and the maximum funding request is $10,000. Funds must be spent by grantees by September 30, 2024.

Click here to access the grant application. Learn more at the Partnership's website.