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Join Us Next Meeting 10/19 | |
Valley Youth Wellness Coalition's next meeting will be Monday, 10/19, from 9:00-10:00.
We will be discussing subcommittee recruitment, virtual meeting options, and continuing our discussion of our strategic plan for the next year!
We will be meeting at the Augusta Health Community Care building 64 Sports Medicine Dr. Fishersville, VA 22939. Park out front, go in through the automatic doors, and make a right to meeting room 3. Hope to see you there!
| How Improving Self-Awareness Helps Youth Build Coping Skills | How do you teach mindfulness to young people in a way they can understand and use? One helpful approach is to organize mindfulness education in ways that represent the four foundations of mindfulness: awareness of the body, awareness of thoughts, awareness of feelings, and awareness of relationships.
Read the article below to learn more about why mindfulness in these four foundations are crucial for youth to gain as part of their early education skills, and how it can help with their stress levels, anxiety, and gain coping skills in their everyday lives. | | | New Virginia tobacco retailer permit deadline arrives amid application backlog | |
Oct. 1 was the deadline for Virginia tobacco retailers to obtain a newly required permit to sell tobacco products, but backups in the approval process are creating uncertainty for some store owners.
The permit stems from a law passed this year in Richmond that transfers tobacco license oversight, including nicotine-based vapes, to the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. The goal of the law is to crack down on underage tobacco use. If caught selling without a permit, this could result in a misdemeanor criminal charge.
Another new change to policies is that every tobacco or vape sale in Virginia requires an ID check, regardless of the customer’s apparent age or familiarity with the cashier.
| | | Gen Z sees sports betting as an investment | |
Forty percent of Gen Z individuals view sports betting as a legitimate investment tool, according to a Bank of America survey highlighted by Morning Brew. Driven by the mindset that analyzing injury reports is easier than decoding corporate earnings, 52% of Gen Zers have actively redirected money originally meant for traditional market investing into sportsbooks instead. This behavioral shift comes despite overwhelming historical data and mathematical odds pointing to gambling as a losing financial strategy.
Despite the illusion that some bettors can consistently beat the system, data shows that almost no one does. Ironically, Gen Z ranks as the most "successful" sports betting generation, yet this still translates to recovering only 80 cents for every dollar wagered—amounting to an average 20% loss. Nevertheless, sports gambling platforms continue to see rapid user growth, with the onset of the football season typically triggers massive spikes in activity.
| | | | October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month | |
Every October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), a national campaign established by Congress in 1989 to support survivors and raise awareness.
Under the theme With Survivors, Always, the initiative focused heavily on building deep community partnerships, fostering solidarity, and reinforcing safety networks. This year's campaign addresses a shift from passive awareness to direct, tangible action to protect survivors and their children.
Ways that you can help take action this year is supporting your local community resources that help survivors, sharing these resources with others, amplifying survivors' voices, and participating in this awareness month's social media campaigns. You can find all the resources you need for this campaign in the tab below.
| October 10: World Mental Health Day 2026 | |
October 10 is World Mental Health Day, and the theme for this year's campaign is "Lived experiences heard; real voices, real change.".
World Mental Health Day emphasizes moving from simply listening to actively involving people with lived experience (PWLE) in shaping the policies, decisions, and mental health services that directly affect their lives. Rather than just sharing their personal stories, PWLE must be given the authority to co-design services, lead peer approaches, and hold systems accountable. Valuing their firsthand knowledge ensures that mental health systems become genuinely person-centered, rights-based, and responsive.
To learn more, the World Health Organization is co-hosting a webinar October 9 at 2 PM all about lived experiences and how we can include their voices to make real change. Sign up in the link below!
| Youth advocates warn higher marijuana fine could deepen racial disparities | Youth advocates are urging Virginia lawmakers to reconsider stiffer penalties for public marijuana use before the state opens its legal adult-use market next summer, warning that the changes could place a disproportionate burden on young people, their families, and Black communities as the penalties for public consumption rise from $25 to $250. | | | | | Training Opportunity: HIDTA Summit 2026 - October 27 | | | |
The purpose of this year's HIDTA Prevention Summit is to equip communities with primary prevention strategies and tools to prevent substance use before it starts, from childhood through age 25, by understanding the developing brain, strengthening protective factors, and reinforcing a drug-free lifestyle at home, in school, in the community, on campus, at work, and online.
This summit will be free for anyone to attend, and will run from 8:30 - 5:00. Up to 7.5 CE credit hours can be earrned.
| | For more information and to register, follow the link below! | | | Community Events and Job Opportunities | Valley Youth Wellness Coalition | valleyywc@vcsb.org | 540-430-9360 | valleyyouthwellnesscoalition.org |
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