Yesterday, Positive Directions was pleased to have convened representatives of ten local prevention coalitions for a virtual forum with our legislators to talk about current issues related to underage substance use and discuss policy solutions. There was robust discussion around several topics: smoke shop enforcement, responses to underage cannabis use, THC potency caps, siloed substance regulation systems, and the need for transparent reporting on uses of the sales tax-based Prevention & Recovery Services Fund. If you missed it, click above to watch the recording. (The YouTube caption includes time stamps for different pieces of the forum.) The slides are also downloadable below. As follow-up, we are happy to announce that a meeting has already been scheduled with Senator Saud Anwar, MD, co-chair of the Public Health Committee. We are also in the process of scheduling meetings with interested legislators who weren't able to attend. Recognition Many thanks to our planning committee, which included members of the Local Prevention Coalitions from New Canaan, Norwalk, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton, in coordination with the Stamford & Greenwich coalitions and our regional partner, The Hub. A particular shoutout to our speakers: Kaitlin Comet, Program Coordinator, The Hub Kevin Godburn, Director, Westport Youth Services Nicole Hampton, Alcohol & Drug Policy Council Melissa McGarry, Prevention Director, Town of Trumbull Melissa Perez-Constantine, Program Coordinator, The Hub Jim Walsh, Chief, Norwalk Police Department Margaret Watt, Prevention Director, Positive Directions as well as Dr. Robin Oshman and Dr. Joe Feuerstein from the Fairfield County Medical Association, who provided medical commentary. Resources Download the slides from our forum here: Want to know more about today's cannabis? Download our awareness poster here: Finally, our sister coalitions from Darien, Greenwich and Stamford are holding another prevention legislative forum on January 14th. You can download the invitation here:

Positive Directions is looking for two new additions to our team! Founded over 50 years ago, Positive Directions is a non-profit behavioral health organization providing a continuum of prevention, counseling, and recovery supports to individuals and families struggling with mental health or substance use disorders. Licensed Counselor (Bilingual preferred) We are urgently seeking a Licensed Counselor (bilingual preferred) to join our team! The position is offered as either part-time or full-time and requires 2 days at Norwalk high schools, with 1-3 clinical days optional at our outpatient clinic. Signing bonus for Spanish bilingual clinician! To apply, email Vwilson@positivedirections.org   Cannabis Prevention Project Manager This is a part-time job where you can make a difference for youth in our communities! This is a regional position working to prevent underage cannabis use in the mid-Fairfield County area. 12 hrs/wk for 18 months. $35/hour with paid time off! To apply, email Mwatt@positivedirections.org

Please consider donating to Positive Directions as your charity of choice this year. Your generous support is what helps us make a difference in other's lives. Please take the time to read our Annual Appeal Letter & 2024 Impact Report to learn about how we are supporting our community and how you can help! Dear Supporter,  Thanks to the unwavering support of donors like you, we can provide essential and affordable counseling and recovery support to those in need. Currently, 40% of our clients utilize state insurance, sliding scale fees, or our Treatment Fund. The repercussions of mental health issues can be profound in children, and it is a growing crisis.  At Positive Directions, we have experienced a 15% increase in our mental health services for children aged twelve to eighteen over the past year.  To better meet our community’s needs, we are proactively expanding our services to include youth as young as ten. Our targeted, tailored treatment and resources empower young people to manage their mental health struggles effectively and develop strong coping strategies. In Fiscal Year 2025, we are prioritizing partnerships and programs that directly support youth mental health. Our collaboration with Norwalk Public Schools is providing vital drug and alcohol counseling to high school students, addressing this critical issue head-on. Our summer SMART Recovery group for middle schoolers equipped them with the tools necessary for success as they transitioned to high school. Additionally, programs like 1:1 Peer Support offer teens and young adults valuable alternatives to traditional counseling. Our “Teen Nights Out”—sober social activities for Norwalk teens—have been developed in response to data from our youth surveys, allowing us to effectively tailor strategies to our community's immediate behavioral health needs. Tackling these challenges requires a determined, collective effort from families, counseling professionals, partner organizations, and engaged community members like you.  The rising demand for our services this year underscores the urgency of our mission. Your prompt support is essential for Positive Directions to continue delivering critical clinical, prevention, and recovery services to all members of our community, regardless of their financial situation. With more children facing mental health struggles, we need your support now more than ever.  You can make a donation  through our website, and checks can be mailed to Positive Directions, 90 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06880. We also invite you to consider including us in your company’s corporate matching program. Your support, in whatever form it takes, is crucial to our ability to continue serving our community. To learn more about Positive Directions’ impact on the community, please read the enclosed Impact Report. Thank you for being a vital part of our mission. Your past support has been invaluable, making a tangible difference in the lives of many. We look forward to your continued partnership and the impactful changes we can achieve together. Sincerely,  Vanessa Wilson, LMFT   Executive Director  Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our website to stay up-to-date Read about the impact of our Prevention, Treatment, and Support in the community! Thank you to our new and loyal donors. We could not do this work without your support!

Join Positive Directions and the Westport Farmers' Market for an engaging Wellness Fair, proudly funded by the Westport Women's Club! This community-focused event is designed to promote health, well-being, and awareness on a variety of important topics. Event Highlights: Free Mental Health Screenings: Take advantage of “Check Up From the Neck Up” for complimentary mental health assessments. Animal Therapy Team: Experience the joy and comfort of animal therapy! Interacting with therapy animals is proven to reduce stress and anxiety. Blood Pressure Screenings: Stay on top of your heart health with free blood pressure screenings. Drug Awareness & Resources: Learn about substance use prevention with hands-on demonstrations and resources. Explore tools like drunk goggles, liquor stickers, lock bags for medications, and a Narcan demonstration to better understand drug awareness and safety. Tick and Mosquito Safety Information: It’s essential to stay informed about tick and mosquito safety. This event not only aims to educate but also to foster a sense of community. Whether you’re looking to learn more about mental health resources, visit with our therapy dog, or connect with other members of the Westport community, there’s something for everyone! Date:Thursday, November 7th Time: 10 AM - 2 PM Location: Westport Farmers' Market We invite you to bring your family and friends and take part in this mindful experience. Together, let’s prioritize our health and well-being. We look forward to seeing you there!

Red Ribbon Week is a national awareness week to promote conversations about substance use with kids. Young children are exposed to vapes in playgrounds, alcohol at family events and in restaurants, and are sometimes taken to our local hospitals after consuming marijuana edibles that they thought were candy... That's why it's so important to "talk early, talk often" with your kids. Educate them, tell them you want them to make good choices, and be a role model. Teach little kids not to eat or drink anything you haven't okayed... and practice refusal skills with older kids. Starting a conversation with young children For Red Ribbon Week, our Westport Prevention Coalition created an activity placemat for parents to do with their elementary aged children. It's intended to start discussions about the Trusted Adults in a child's life, coping skills, healthy vs unhealthy behaviors, safe vs unsafe drugs or substances, etc. You can download a letter-size version below (2 pages). We want to give a shoutout to the following restaurants participating in this campaign by providing the placemat to young children during Red Ribbon Week: Angelina's Trattoria Bar Taco Little Barn Little Pub at Dunville's The Porch at Christie's Rizzuto's Please consider bringing your kids there for a meal in the next week and thank them for participating! At next week's Halloween Parade, the placemats will be distributed to children at Town Hall by the Westport Human Services staff, along with a parent info card and lollipop. Placemats are also available in the children's room at The Westport Library and at Aspetuck Health District. The Westport Center for Senior Activities is offering them to their members as an activity to do with their grandkids. On behalf of The Norwalk Partnership , Positive Directions had a Red Ribbon Week parent awareness table last night at the Norwalk Public Library while children did a friendship craft. Parents had in-depth conversations about how to protect their young children, how and when to start talking about alcohol and drugs, and received resources such as Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health , MADD's Power of Parents handbook , Liquor Stickers, lockbags to keep prescription drugs and/or cannabis safely locked up, information about the Talk.They Hear You app for parents, and more. We're also sending downloadable materials out to parents through Norwalk elementary schools. Preventing access to drugs at home Preventing substance misuse--including accidental or intentional overdose--starts at home. In addition to frequent conversations with children and teens, families should practice safe storage and safe disposal in their homes. Safe storage involves keeping alcohol, prescription drugs, and cannabis safely out of reach of youth and locked up. You can install a lock on your liquor and medicine cabinets, use our Liquor Stickers to seal up unfinished bottles of alcohol, and get a lockbox or lockbag to store your Rx drugs and cannabis using a combination lock. Safe disposal refers to regularly going through your medicine cabinet to identify unused or expired substances and get rid of them. Please don't flush them, though! Use a Deterra bag to disintegrate and deactivate the medication and then throw it in the trash. Or bring your prescription drugs to the dropbox at your police department. Also, tomorrow (Saturday, October 26th from 10am-2pm), Westport and most town police departments are holding National Drug Take-Back Day , where you can bring your drugs to be safely disposed of. Contact our Prevention Director, Margaret Watt , for more information about liquor stickers, Deterra bags, or lockbags. Stay safe! Download the RRW placemat to use with kids in your life!

Written By: Juliana Cotza - Positive Directions Marketing Intern, Fall 2024 A semicolon is used when an author could have chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life. People say your high school years are some of the best years of your life. They are filled with Friday night football games, junior prom, and pep rallies - core memories that are made during this time. My high school years, however, were some of the worst years. Instead of making lifelong memories with friends, I was held hostage to my bed, plagued with intense depression and anxiety. I didn’t leave the house much in high school. I spent 4 years completing school online, barely getting by. Some days were extremely dark; I couldn’t speak to anyone, couldn’t eat, and couldn’t imagine waking up the next day to the life I was living. Thankfully, I found help and began therapy. I would be lying if I said my first counseling sessions were productive. In reality, I spent the first few hour sessions crying, unable to get a word out. Very slowly, I gained the strength to open up to my therapist. I began to put in the work to take back control of my life. The work I have done in therapy was hard and long, and even still today, ongoing. If you told 16 year old me, the girl who didn’t want to keep living, who missed out on high school because of her mental health, that I am thriving in college, she would not believe you. Sometimes it is still difficult for me to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments I’ve gathered since that extremely dark time in my life. But I am being mindful to self-reflect and appreciate how much progress I have made every single day.  Being on the other side of the couch has truly brought things into perspective. When I entered the role of Marketing Intern at Positive Directions, I felt so many emotions that are still difficult for me to put into words; bittersweet and proud come to mind. Being in the counseling environment as an employee and not a client is a feeling I can’t describe. I feel so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity. Looking back, I can now say that I don’t recognize high school me. But I am grateful for her, and immensely proud of her; I would not change a thing. She gave me the passion and drive to one day pursue a career where I have the ability to help people, exactly like I was helped.  This is your sign to keep going and to stay alive. There is a light at the end of the tunnel; I know because I’ve reached it. A semicolon is used when an author could have chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life. Due to my personal history with mental health struggles, I have always been interested in perusing a career in the psychology field. My goal is to help people like I have been helped, and provide that support to others who may be struggling. However, I also have interests in marketing as well. That is why this role as Marketing Intern at PD was perfect for me; it combined both of my interests and passions into one position. I have the opportunity to be creative, raise awareness for mental health and substance abuse, and break down the stigma associated with it. Photo: Juliana, the President of mental health and suicide prevention club "To Write Love on Her Arms", giving Sacred Heart University students temporary semicolon tattoos at SHU's annual Suicide Prevention Walk. About Positive Directions-The Center for Prevention & Counseling Positive Directions is a nonprofit serving mid Fairfield County for over 50 years. We provide community-based prevention services, outpatient counseling, and recovery support groups for children, adults, and families struggling with mental health and/or substance use challenges. In the area of suicide prevention addressed in this blog post, we provide a free in-person Alternatives to Suicide support group every Tuesday night at 7pm at our office. The "Alt2Su" group is open to anyone over age 18. For teens and young adults, we also offer free one-on-one peer support through our TurningPointCT project (soon to be renamed the CT Support Group), funded by DMHAS. Our young adult Peer Support Specialist, Quinn, has lived experience and extensive peer support training to help young people dealing with mental illness, substance misuse, or identity issues. Quinn is an experienced Alt2Su facilitator.

Penny at PD We are so excited to have Penny join our team here at Positive Directions. Penny is a Vizsla and a certified therapy dog. Penny will be on-site at Positive Directions at various times, and we can’t wait for everyone to get to know her! We are offering an open group with Penny on October 22nd, from 4 - 5 pm at Positive Directions for anyone who loves dogs and wants to learn about the benefits of animal therapy. You can RSVP on our event page or click here . Space is limited. Benefits of Animal Therapy Animal therapy is a type of therapy that is complementary and enhances current treatment. It can be such an impactful addition to therapy sessions because just the mere presence of animals can have therapeutic effects. Animal therapy can be a great way to help people cope with different stressors and provide comfort. There are many different mental and emotional benefits to clients from using animal therapy like decreased loneliness, boosted mood, diverting negative thoughts, and increased feelings of social support. These benefits aid in the process of therapy and can greatly help clients in their treatment journey. At Positive directions, we strive to help all individuals and families have the skills, support, and resources they need to live a healthy life and contribute to a strong community. Offering animal therapy is one more way in which we hope to support our community holistically. If you or someone you know is in need of support, please reach out to us at info@positivedirections.org or call us at 203-227-7644. For the latest, follow us @Positivedrctns on Instagram and Positive Directions on Facebook!

Click below to download the event flyer!

Suicide deaths are a growing tragedy, both in this country and worldwide, across all demographics. Today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, we encourage everyone to help be a part of the solution: We can all help connect people who are struggling to services such as counseling and peer supports. A warm handoff is better than handing a phone number to a person in need, so sit with them, make a call with them, or accompany them. Hotlines are available, and virtually every town has a social services department that can help you identify good therapy in your area. Most people are unaware of the wealth of amazing and FREE peer support options that are out there. Here at Positive Directions, we run an in-person Alternatives to Suicide support group every Tuesday night, and there are others in the state. RIPPLE offers late night support; NAMI CT has Out of the Abyss groups; and Connecticut opened the state's first peer-run respite just this summer. Please take a minute to read through all the options on our "Do you have frequent thoughts of suicide?" flyer above, and download flyers about each model at the bottom of this post. Please consider sharing this information at your office, school, house of worship, gym, coffee shop, or social media. You may never know how many people you can help just by raising awareness! If you or a friend has lost someone to suicide, know that you are not alone. Just in our area, there are suicide loss support groups in Trumbull, Westport, and Greenwich, and through the Center for Hope operated by Family Centers. Consider attending tonight's Shining Together vigil in Trumbull on the Town Green starting at 6pm. Take a Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR) or other suicide prevention training , to know how to start a potentially lifesaving conversation with someone. We're having our free monthly online training tomorrow night ! (And we can bring it to a group.) Below you can download and post the 2024 Suicide Supports flyer above; our Alternatives to Suicide flyer with info on the Positive Directions, RIPPLE and Toivo groups; NAMI CT's Out of the Abyss brochure; and our hotlines flyer. Please share!

Positive Directions is thrilled to share the exciting news that we have officially been recognized as a Recovery Friendly Workplace (RFW)! This designation reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting the well-being of our employees in a holistic manner. As a behavioral health organization, we understand the importance of prioritizing mental health in the workplace, as we believe that a healthy workforce leads to a more productive and positive work environment. Being designated as a Recovery Friendly Workplace means that we have implemented various initiatives and programs to support employees who may be facing mental health challenges or are in recovery. We have created a supportive and inclusive environment where individuals feel comfortable seeking help and resources when needed. This designation underscores our dedication to promoting a culture of well-being and resilience within our organization. At Positive Directions, we recognize that mental health is a critical component of overall wellness. By prioritizing mental health in the workplace, we are not only supporting our employees on a personal level but also fostering a more compassionate and understanding work environment. We are proud to be a Recovery Friendly Workplace and look forward to continuing our efforts to promote mental health awareness and support within our organization. What is a Recovery Friendly Workplace? A recovery friendly workplace is a workplace that is prepared to support employees struggling with substance use disorder (SUD). As a recovery-ready workplace we are able to support employees by developing policies and practices that support treatment through access to different recovery resources. We also want this support to extend to families of our employees and aid them in the recovery process of their family members. Why is this important? Research has shown that 7 in 10 adults with substance use disorder are members of the workforce and SUD’s have become extremely prevalent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Being a recovery friendly workplace is extremely important to us at Positive Directions because we want to be able to create a safe space for not only our clients, but our employees as well. We want to give our employees the resources they need to reestablish their health and feel supported in their work environment. We are proud to be a certified Recovery Friendly Workplace and are so happy that we can continue to support our employees.

Everyday we are given various tasks to complete whether that be at work, home, school, etc. We all have schedules that we have to follow but what people are often lacking despite having a schedule is having a routine. Routines are practices that we regularly follow and can set in place for ourselves rather than the schedules we conform to everyday.  Routines are really important because they help reduce stress and the uncertainty that we may face during the day. Having practices that we do every day allow for more feelings of control and security rather than waiting for the unexpected. Here are some ways that you can incorporate routines into your life.  Meals: Meal prepping or writing out a meal planning calendar can be very beneficial in establishing routine and diminishing the stress of what to buy at the grocery store and what to eat each day. Meal prepping is a really great way to do this especially if you are on the go. Planning also allows you to make healthier choices because you won’t have to make quick decisions and you will already have the ingredients to make a meal rather than go out to eat.  Sleep: Having a wind down routine can greatly improve your quality of sleep which in turn reduces stress levels . Creating a routine that sets your space up for sleep will allow you to start to calm down before bed and signal to your brain that you need to go to sleep. Some different things that you can incorporate into your nightly activities is to read a book, create a skincare routine, drink calming tea, and reduce screen time. Mornings: The morning is such a crucial time of day because your mornings set you up for the rest of the day. Having a good morning routine will allow you to start your day on the right foot and bring you into the rest of your day with calm energy. Different practices that you can add to your morning to create a routine are doing a workout or stretching, meditating, getting fresh air, and journaling.  The mental health benefits of routine can apply to everyone, but specifically people going through addiction recovery  can greatly benefit from having a routine. Planning allows people to feel more in control and slow down the decision making process. Routines allow us to fill our day with productive thoughts and actions which allow for less stressors, preventing a potential relapse. Creating routines that work for you is the first step to establishing this new practice. There are many different ways to create routines and ways that you can help yourself stick to them.  Write them down: Writing out your routines can hold you accountable and allow you to see where they fit into your current daily schedule and tasks. Some different ways to do this could be getting an hourly planner that allows you to write out your day or make a to-do list of the different things you want to incorporate into your daily routine.  Create manageable routines: Routines are only beneficial if they make sense for you. If the mornings are super busy, then make a small list of things that you can do in the morning. This can be as simple as writing out the order in which you would like to do your current tasks like brushing your teeth, then making breakfast, then getting dressed. This will allow you to have the order of your routine consistent without adding anything new.  Making small changes: Fully changing the way you currently do things can be very overwhelming if you are wanting to add and change your current routine. Start with small changes and slowly incorporate all the different things you want to change in your day. For example if you want to change your nightly routine to minimize screen time and prioritize winding down, do not fully change the way you go to bed now. Start with dimming your lighting earlier in the night and decreasing your screen time from an hour to thirty minutes. Small changes are sustainable and lead to big differences over time. Prioritizing our mental health is so important and a great way to do this is through establishing routines. Determine what you want your routine to be, make changes if necessary, start slow, and you will be on your way to having a more calm and consistent day.  For some, meeting with a counselor can be helpful when looking to establish routines. Positive Directions has got your back. To learn more about our services go to www.positivedirections.org or call 203.227.7644 to speak with our Clinic Coordinator, Emily, and schedule an appointment. All insurances accepted and open availability.

Two scary news stories kicked off Overdose Awareness Month in Connecticut: On August 2nd, NBC CT reported on a one-year-old toddler who had to be revived with Naloxone --aka Narcan(TM)--after ingesting fentanyl in a park in New Britain. On August 3rd, Norwalk Police Department made an arrest at Zaza Smoke Shop, where "several hundred" cannabis products were being sold illegally, with many testing positive for fentanyl . These stories highlight how important it is for everyone to educate themselves about overdose risk, to raise awareness among family members and colleagues, and to carry Narcan and be prepared to respond to an overdose emergency. Free Training for College Students On August 15th from 6-7pm, Positive Directions is offering a free event for local college students to learn about mental health & substance risks and resources. Participants will receive a free Narcan kit and other resources so they can be safe at college and prepared to save a life! Space is limited; register here . Not a college student from Norwalk or Westport? Contact us about upcoming community awareness events or to host a Narcan training for your business or school. Narcan is also available for purchase at local pharmacies, with no prescription needed. What Everyone Should Know Fentanyl is an extremely strong opioid. As little as 1-2 milligrams may be fatal. It is tasteless and can be laced into other drugs--with or without the user's knowledge--to increase the high from the drug. Fentanyl has been a major driver of the increase in overdose deaths nationwide. In recent years, fentanyl has circulated in the form of counterfeit drugs that look like prescription pills (Adderall, Xanax, etc.). People have died after borrowing a pill from a friend, unaware that the pill was never prescribed to their friend or purchased from a pharmacy. Cannabis can only legally be sold at a state-licensed cannabis retailer or medical marijuana dispensary. Smoke shops (such as vape stores, convenience stores, and gas stations that may sell cigarettes or vapes) are NOT licensed to sell weed. If they are selling weed illegally, it should not be considered safe since there is no product testing or quality assurance. Parents should talk openly with their kids about these risks. Young children need to know that they should never eat a candy or anything that hasn't been okayed by their parents. Older children and young adults need to know that they should never borrow any kind of medication or supplement, and should only take products that have been prescribed for them by a medical provider and picked up by them or a family member at a pharmacy. All medications, cannabis products, and alcohol should be kept out of reach of children and pets and sealed or locked up. Learn about safe medication storage and request a free lockbox here . Want to Get Involved? Positive Directions leads community coalitions that seek to prevent substance misuse and suicide and promote mental wellness. We are always looking for concerned community members to join The Norwalk Partnership or the Westport Prevention Coalition ! Contact Margaret Watt , Prevention Director, for more information about our efforts related to alcohol, cannabis, vaping, opioids, and mental health. Together, we can create healthier communities! Every town in Connecticut has its own Local Prevention Council, so if you are interested but live elsewhere, find your LPC here . Finally, save the date for the annual Community Addiction Awareness Vigil  organized by the New Canaan Parent Support Group. This heartfelt event will take place on August 29th, 2024 and will feature speakers, resources, and a candlelight vigil remembering those who have been lost.