National Prevention Week is from May 11th to May 17th, and Old Saybrook’s Youth and Family Services will be celebrating and raising awareness in several ways. Youth and Family will be focusing on a different prevention topic each day, posting a newsletter through their website (www.osyfs.org). Additionally, there will be two informational tables during lunch at OSHS on Wednesday, May 14th. One table will be Youth and Family workers with information on prevention topics such as substances and mental health, and the other will be Sherry Carlson, BSN, RN from CT River Area Health District discussing skin cancer prevention.
Brittany Eckert, Youth and Family’s Prevention Program Coordinator, explained the purpose behind National Prevention Week, saying, “Prevention has always been a word that people kind of stay away from, because there’s a stigma to it, right? So [Youth and Family] provides students with information on how to get the help they need, along with letting off some steam in a healthy environment.”
Another event during the week will be on Wednesday, May 14th: Ashley Phan will be coming to Old Saybrook to speak to the community. Phan is the CEO of We Are One Inc., a Connecticut group focused on preventing human trafficking, and she will be discussing what human trafficking is and what people should know about it. This will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Youth and Family and will also be available through Zoom, with everyone in the community being welcome to attend.
The week will culminate with the National Prevention Celebration, on Friday, May 16th. This event will occur at the OSMS field hockey field from 2:30-4:30 p.m., with a bounce course, games, snacks, giveaways, and more. Additionally, OSHS’s IPCAA club will be stuffing care bags for women’s shelters. High schoolers are welcome to attend the event, volunteer to help out, or both. Students interested in volunteering can reach out to Eckert ([email protected]) for more information.
