Communities That Care

Posted on August 20, 2008

CTC Hosts SAMHSA Award Program Representative

Melanie Lanctot of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse visited the offices of Five Town Communities That Care on Friday, August 15th to conduct a site visit for the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) ‘Science And Service Award’ Program. The site visit was designed to allow SAMHSA to verify that information collected about Five Town Communities That Care’s implementation of its research-based S.T.A.R. program is accurate, and that Five Town CTC is indeed delivering science-based prevention programming that is 1) based on a well-defined community need, 2) sustainable, 3) implemented with high fidelity to the original research design, and 4) producing tangible results and benefits to the community.

Five Town Communities That Care was notified this summer that the organization was a finalist for the national Science and Service award. The site visit is the final step before SAMHSA chooses its three awardees in the category of Substance Abuse Prevention later this month.

"I am very impressed by what Five Towns CTC and its community supporters have been able to accomplish!" said Ms. Lanctot after reviewing data on Five Town Communities That Care programs.

Five Town CTC STAR Program Coordinator Tarah Hall was part of the team that met with Ms. Lanctot.  Hall shared, "It’s great to be a finalist for the Science to Service Award. We hear from our program participants and their families that they love what we are doing – and now we have the opportunity to receive the same recognition at the national level. This type of recognition not only speaks to the STAR program itself, but also to all of the dedicated instructors and community members who strive to provide high quality after school programming in the mid-coast. Without their hard work and support we wouldn’t be in the place we are today."

Five Town Communities That Care Executive Director Dalene Dutton is also very proud of the community’s efforts and results. "It is very rewarding to be able to provide clear evidence that what we are doing works to positively impact the predictors of problem adolescent behaviors BEFORE children develop them. Being a finalist for a national-level award is like icing on the cake. We have the satisfaction of knowing we are making good things happen in our community AND are getting recognized for our work, too!" said Dutton.

For more information about Five Town Communities That Care, visit www.fivetownctc.org, or contact Dalene Dutton by emailing dalene@fivetownctc.org or by calling the CTC offices at (207) 236-9800. For more information about the Science and Service Awards, visit www.samhsa.gov/scienceandservice or contact the Science to Service Award Coordinators, Michelle Duda and Dean Fixsen. Michelle may be contacted at mduda@fmhi.usf.edu or at 813-974-1107 and Dean may be contacted at dfixsen@fmhi.usf.edu or at 813-974-4446

Posted on August 8, 2008

Marijuana Sourcebook Available from ONDCP

Did you know that marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug? Did you know that first use of marijuana typically occurs at a younger age than first use of most drugs of abuse? Did you know that one in four 12-17 year olds who report using marijuana in the last year display characteristics of dependency?

Did you know that marijuana is being marketed as candy to young people? Did you know that this spring nearly 59% of our own five-town area grade twelve students reported having used marijuana?

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has released the 2008 Marijuana Sourcebook, which summarizes data on marijuana use patterns and trends, health effects, criminal justice aspects, the supply network, and the issue of medical marijuana. The Sourcebook is a wealth of information for interested community members and can be downloaded at http://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/Marijuana_2008.pdf.

Posted on August 5, 2008

Math and Literacy Mentors Receives $5000 from MCF

The Maine Community Foundation has awarded $5000 from its Knox County Fund to Five Town Communities That Care for the 2008-2009 Math and Literacy Mentors Program. 

The program matches local middle school students with caring adult mentors who provide tutoring and support in either mathematics or literacy in one-hour sessions for two days per week. There is no cost to participants or their families for this program. 

The Math and Literacy Mentors program is based on research showing that adults who work with students to help them gain specific skills—and who recognize those students for their mastery of those skills—can positively influence student attitudes towards school.

Many times students can rebound quickly from an academic setback with timely and caring intervention. Students who struggle and do not receive adequate remediation often fall farther and farther behind—losing self-confidence and self-esteem in the process. Such students are at greater risk for developing problems with substance abuse, suicide, violence, delinquency, school drop-out, and teen pregnancy. 

In addition to reducing risk of problem behaviors and increasing academic performance of students, the benefits for the adults involved with this program are significant. For many mentors, this program provided their first experience working closely with adolescents who are not members of their own family. The Math and Literacy Mentors report their experience as very rewarding, and most come back to the program again.

Posted on August 1, 2008

Summer Newsletter Available

The ’08 summer Five Town CTC Newsletter is available for immediate download.  Click HERE to download the newsletter to your computer (in pdf format).