The Haven Youth Center is a service of and made possible by the continued support of the Martinsville community.
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Youth News
Youth Center 39 East Jackson Street Martinsville, Indiana 46151 T: (765) 342-5102 E: HavenYouthCenter@gmail.com
Volume 2 | DECEMBER 2015
Collaborative Grant: Teen Wellness & More
Hosted by the First Christian Church Serving Martinsville Youth Since 1998 Mission Statement: The Purpose of The Haven is to provide youth a Safe Place to hang out with friends, visit, play games, eat, study, learn new skills, and do community service projects.
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WHAT I LIKE ABOUT MYSELF…
Image credit: askbadenwuerttemberg, via Tumbler
As a follow-up to the self esteem segment of our Teen Wellness and More program The Haven youth were asked to name one quality they liked about themselves. Abby and Kelly named their artistic talent while Lindsay and Jhett chose their ability to be humorous as a favorite. Dylan “likes his talent“ while Jenna and Meri are happy with good grades and R. J. especially notes his mathematics ability. Savanna and Robert felt making friends easily and being nice to people are special for them. Dallas named his athletic talent and Anthony singled out basketball success. Konner and Camille said they try to just be themselves and not to give up respectively. Finally, Sophia is pleased to be overcoming her fear of performing musically. What a great list of answers from a great group of youth.
Teen Wellness and More was the topic of a collaborative grant for The Haven and Boys and Girls Club of Morgan County during the first two weeks of November. Identical sessions of Hands on in the Kitchen/Nutrition; Yoga/Meditation; Self-Esteem/Suicide Prevention; Marijuana, Tobacco, Alcohol and Prescription drug abuse and what effect those substances have on our brains were presented in each location.
session regarding poor choices made by members of the IDT as teenagers which led them to major legal and personal problems. These young adults are now making appropriate choices and moving their lives in positive directions. The middle school youth were eager to hear about the problems and solutions experienced by the Indiana Dream Team.
In addition, Officer Dennis Nail of the Martinsville Police Department visited The Haven for a very informative question and answer segment. Professionals involved in the presentations were Jill Frame, dietitian and educator, Kim Cooper of Breathe and Flow Yoga Studio, Brigette Gurden, Director of Boys and Girls Club and Judy Williams, RPh/Certified Prevention Professional.
The gathering was fun and meaningful to all of the fifty persons present. Six Haven youth were awarded for perfect attendance in the entire program. These were Dallas Brawley, Brandon Libecap, Abby Sullivan, Jhett Ross and Savanna and Jenna Alexander. Thirty-four Haven youth participated in this middle school collaborative proThe closing session was held at The Haven with Boys and gram which was funded by Girls Club and the Indiana Dream Team as guests. A casual a grant from the Kendrick gathering allowed for a memorable question and answer Foundation. The students and staff of The Haven wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. The Haven youth have invited the Indiana Dream Team to return on December 18 for a Christmas celebration. In preparation for the event the youth will plan and prepare healthy snacks as well as activities to make the gathering fun and memorable. The Haven will be open 1pm to 5pm December 21, 22, 23, 28 and 29 during the holiday school break. The Haven will be closed on the 24 and 25, and on the 30 and 31 for cleaning and the installation of new computers. On December 22 and 29 there will be movie trips for students who are interested.
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TEEN SUBSTANCE ABUSE FORUMS
GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY The Haven elves spent three days prior to Thanksgiving making Christmas ornaments for an important community service project. Those ornaments were exchanged for donations at First Christian Church on Sunday, November 29. A total of $310 was generated for the Morgan County Christmas Assistance Program administered by Churches in Mission in collaboration with Morgan County Community Foundation. Making the project doubly effective, Citizens Bank matched all online donations on Giving Tuesday, December 1 which increased The Haven’s effort to a gift of $620 to make Christmas 2015 more special for local families in need.
PITFALLS OF TOBACCO USAGE to strengthen the response will result in a Comprehensive Community Plan to continue addressing the significant substance abuse problem in Morgan County. Patty Champion and Judy Williams represented The Haven at two of the forums in an effort to fulfill our continuing commitment to offer our middle school youth quality prevention programs.
Morgan County Substance Abuse Council recently held four forums to further the county wide process of assessing substance abuse issues. A documentation of current efforts in place, identification of the most pressing issues and proposal of strategies
Sarah Glasscock, RN, visited The Haven this fall to talk about tobacco and the many health issues associated with its usage. This was part of Mrs. Glasscock’s course work at Indiana State University where she is pursuing a degree in nursing. Her presentation revolved around a poster depicting the numerous poisons contained in cigarettes. She also included a very important interactive segment with her audience. Many thanks for the timely reminders Mrs. Glasscock. We continue to refer to your excellent poster.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Goals are dreams with deadlines. ENDOWMENT FUNDS The Community Foundation of Morgan County is home to two endowment funds which benefit The Haven Youth Center. The Haven Endowment Fund #327 provides general support for any need while The Haven Endowment Fund for Prevention #626 provides support for any type of
alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drug/prescription drug abuse programming which is presented. Gifts to either fund can be mailed to Community Foundation of Morgan County, 56 North Main Street, Martinsville, IN 46151 with either fund identified in the memo. We are indeed grateful for the continued community support as we anticipate beginning our 18th year of serving Martinsville Middle School youth in an after school setting.
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MPD Officer Dennis Nail at The Haven
Sarah Glasscock, RN speaks to Haven kids
Jill Frame’s nutrition class at The Haven
UPCOMING IN JANUARY The Haven will present an eleven session program as part of our ongoing effort to offer middle school students important tools to make the best choices. Project Alert is an evidence-based drug preSubstance abuse prevention for grades 6, 7 & 8 vention program published by the BEST Foundation for a Drug Free Tomorrow, adapted from an original curriculum developed and tested by RAND with funding from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. The sessions will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in January and students who attend all eleven sessions will be awarded gift cards. A grant from Morgan County Substance Abuse Council will support this program.
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