You might notice that there are a lot of green ribbons during the month of May. May was designated Mental Health Awareness Month by Mental Health America in 1949, to bring attention to the 18.1% of Americans who experience the diseases of mental health. The majority...
Last month, I wrote about a few of the outstanding youth leaders in South Orange County. While profiling these youth, I took time to reflect on the qualities these youth have that help them follow their passions and make a difference in their communities. And even...
The Wellness & Prevention Center believes that empowering youth is key to successful prevention efforts and building healthy communities. In March, we honor the young people who choose to make a difference in the lives of their peers and community. From campus...
Stress is defined as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances”, and during a global pandemic, to say we are all under some amount of stress would likely be an understatement. This is no less true for the...
This will be a year that we want to forget, but unfortunately the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic will be with us for many years to come. A large portion of our population has suffered disproportionately from this crisis, and I applaud those who have found ways...
The Wellness & Prevention Coalition is a federally-funded Drug Free Communities (DFC) coalition that leads efforts to support healthy habits among children and their families. The mission of DFC coalitions nationwide is to reduce youth substance use through...
In 2018, 48,344 Americans died by suicide - an average of 132 per day. It is the leading cause of death for teens nationwide. The CDC announced that, in a survey conducted this spring, 1 in 4 young people ages 18-25 reported seriously considering suicide in the past...
I admit it - I am super tired of living in a pandemic. Thankfully, I am fairly well equipped physically, socially, and emotionally to deal with this situation. There are still many days when the seemingly never-ending uncertainty and inability to control what is going...
I recently lost a very close family friend to an accidental drug overdose. He is not the first, but I hope the work I do will ensure that he is the last. I have lost too many friends to mental illness and addiction. I can’t quite put my finger on the cause of this...
Earlier this month I attended the Addressing Youth Suicide conference presented by CHOCChildrens. Sadly, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for young people ages 10-34. At the conference, a panel member asked the audience to close their eyes and raise their...