Next Step It Up Coalition Meeting

The next meeting of the Step-It-Up Prevention Policy Coalition FOR POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT AND PREVENTION OF PROBLEM BEHAVIORS will be TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 4 TO 5:30 in the Board Room of La Plata Electric Association (Bodo Industrial Park)Agenda:

1. A Youth Master Plan for La Plata County: what would that be benefits; could we get one consultant for Sept. 6 and Sept. 7; is this a logical evolution of the PPB/SIU Coalition?

2. Inclusion of Youth in recommendations for revised Durango Comprehensive Plan.

3. Drug Free Communities update: surveys; media campaign; service learning; youth peer organizers.

4. Across Ages Update: introduction of new director and 06-07 funding.

5. Our message to Durango School District via a “key communicator”.

This will be an important meeting. We hope to go beyond programs and grants, and to effective and sustainable community planning for positive youth development. Please come. I hope to see you.

August 1, 1006

In attendance:  Harlene Russell-Spratlen, La Plata Youth Services; Jennifer Doherty, Women’s Resource Center; Kendra Gallegos, DRAGON Youth Project.

Today’s meeting was called with an emphasis on the Girls Circle program that the DRAGON Youth Project will be implementing in our community beginning this fall.  The main goals were to choose one of the nine activity guides for utilization with the pilot group, choose an age group of girls, choose a location for the group, and to choose a target population of girls. 

Both Harlene and Jenn provided some great outside contacts they believed would be able to help with recruiting girls, location, etc.  Kendra agreed to contact Carson Jones with Human Services, Eve Presler with the Advocacy for La Plata, Esther Belen with DHS and DLEC, Emily at Planned Parenthood, Cindy Ryan at Excel, Katie Parkinson and Brian at Miller/Escalante middle schools, Leanne Vallejos with DLEC, and some local churches, such as New Life Chapel and Saint Columba. 

Jenn agreed to help find out more information on Girl Scouts in Durango, as well as to speak with her coworkers, Tracy and Mandy, at the WRC to work on recruitment of girls for the pilot group.

We all agreed on the “Expressing My Individuality” curriculum for the pilot group, targeting a group of girls aged 11-15.  We all felt like holding group sessions at the high school would be most effective, due to transportation and convenience.

If anyone has any additional contacts they feel would be appropriate in relation to the Girls Circle program, please feel free to email me kendra@sjbhd.org