In attendance: Harlene Russell-Spratlen, La Plata Youth Services; Faith Lemon, Robert E. DeNier Youth Services Center; Mary Jo Rakowski, Southwest CO MADD
We started the meeting with introductions. I explained an overview of the DRAGON Youth Project, stating what it is, what is currently being done and what will be coming up in the near future. I explained the Reconnecting Youth curriculum and how it is being used as well as where it will be offered in the fall. Harlene expressed an interest in incorporating it into the life skills group currently being held at the La Plata Youth Services.
I explained that we will be holding a Girls' Circle group in collaboration with the Women's Resource Center in the fall. I expressed my desire for ideas on how to recruit girls and what girls I should be looking for. Faith and Harlene talked about the increase in the numbers of deliquent girls in our area.
I brought up the Strengthening the Bonds of Chicano Youth & Families program suggested to me by my ADAD advisor. I asked what the group thought about the at risk Latino youth in the community. Harlene brought up the many activities and programs that the Durango Lation Education Coalition has. We discussed how the DRAGON Youth Project could perhaps work with the coalition to get some new activites started.
I explained the FLC Social Norming Campaign that we are working on. Harlene mentioned the Underage Drinking grant offered by the state that is still open and is focusing on college students. Mary Jo said that it is important to focus on college students because a lot of them are under 21.
I explained this online forum and expressed my desire for everyone to check it out and stay updated, as well as keep *me* updated on the site.
We did some brainstorming and all present provided me with some wonderful ideas. Harlene expressed her concern that the DRAGON Youth Project is doing similiar work as the Step it Up Coalition and suggested that I talk with Jenn Bartlett to get some more information from the last meetings for ideas. Faith mentioned bringing the Reconnecting Youth curriculum into Durango High School by contacting such groups as Synergy, Teen Court and the Summit at the high school. We all discussed the benefits of starting prevention education at a younger age and Mary Jo explained to us the MADD program, Youth in Action, that uses middle and high school students to teach younger kids.
We talked about the outcomes of the Town Hall meetings and all agreed that more publicity was necessary and that it was not solution based.
Other ideas were to get more volunteers involved through the service learning requirement at the high school, the psychology and sociology programs at FLC, probation divisions, and the La Plata Youth Services.
Harlene and Mary Jo said they would speak to some individuals who may be interested in serving on the committee in the future.
We all agreed to keep in touch through the online forum and email. I asked the committee to keep me updates with news or ideas on the forum.
