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Camp Staff Awareness Trainings
Hosted by:
Amudim Community Resources- NCSY
Please briefly describe your Communities Talk activity.
Our organization held an informative and educational training course for youth counselors and other staff members. Although our organization is based in New York City, we held this training in Baltimore, Maryland. Our youth trainees learned how to identify signs of substance misuse and joined in prevention efforts and activities to ensure that the camp and community remain safe and substance free for the benefit of all individuals involved. They also had group breakout sessions that focused on safe boundaries, respecting peers, teamwork, resistance skills, and more which can prevent the beginnings of substance use before there are problems.
How does alcohol and other drug misuse affect your community?
Among our target population, community members feel a particularly intense stigma relating to mental health struggles and addictions. As a result, there is minimal discussion on these topics, and individuals who are suffering hesitate or delay reaching out for help. Our event was a crucial step in opening important conversations relating to mental health issues and addictions which may develop as a result.
Which prevention strategy(ies), as defined by SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, best fit your Communities Talk activity?
- Education Strategy – focuses on “two-way” communication between the facilitator and participants and aims to improve life/social skills such as decision making, refusal skills, and critical analysis.
What goal(s) did you hope to accomplish with your Communities Talk activity?
- Hold meetings or discussion groups on alcohol and/or other drug misuse prevention.
Did you accomplish your goal(s)?
Yes
How did you overcome these challenges?
What are your next steps?
- Host follow-up meetings or activities
If you’ve conducted Communities Talk activities in prior years, how has your repeated participation contributed to progress in achieving your prevention goals?
This was our organization’s first year participating in the SAMHSA Communities Talk Initiative.
Organizations that conduct Communities Talk activities often involve other organizations in the planning and execution of events. Please indicate which type(s) of organizations you involved in your activity planning.
- Faith-based based organizations
- Colleges or universities
Which of the following best describes the primary audience(s) for your Communities Talk activity?
How did you reach and engage your primary audience(s) to encourage them to participate in your activity?
We mainly involved the youth who would be serving as counselors for the camp on campus during the summer months as this would directly impact and reduce substance misuse among this community.
Which Communities Talk resources (or other SAMHSA resources) were most helpful for your activity?
- SAMHSA’s Event Planner
- Communities Talk planning guides
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