Be part of the Priority Planning for youth mental wellbeing! Plus No Vape November & more
- Norwalk Partnership
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
In this blog post:
Join the community-based Priority Planning for Norwalk youth mental wellbeing
No Vape November
Red Ribbon Week recap
Day of Training
Shoutouts to coalition work & in-person meeting this month
Join fellow Norwalkers to develop community priorities around Norwalk youth mental wellbeing
YOU'RE INVITED to an innovative strategic initiative to address mental health and substance misuse in Norwalk youth!
Starting this Wednesday, November 12th, and continuing monthly through February 2026, we are convening around 25-40 key stakeholders -- local youth, parents, community providers, faith leaders, school reps, first responders, and policy makers -- to build consensus around Norwalk's priorities for youth mental wellbeing.
We want to hear from YOU as we have meaningful discussions about the hard issues facing Norwalk: the underserved populations, the unmet needs, what needs to be prioritized for action, and how we can work together to support all our youth. There's no more critical time, with funding tighter than ever, plus many of our social services and behavioral health providers increasingly limited by federal regulations in serving some of our most vulnerable populations.
When: Wed Nov 12; Wed Dec 10; Wed Jan 14; and Wed Feb 11 from 4pm-6pm.
Where: The EnVision Center, 30 Day Street, Building C, Norwalk.
Dinner provided.
This project is funded by a New Canaan Community Foundation grant to Positive Directions and is implemented in collaboration with consultant Chrissy Mahanna of Compass Consulting and with the support of the Social-Emotional Health (SEH) Leadership team convened by Norwalk ACTS, which includes Family & Children's Agency, Mid-Fairfield Community Care Center, Norwalk ACTS, Norwalk Public Schools, and Positive Directions.
Red Ribbon Week Recap
On October 23rd, Norwalk parents with kids in K-3 were treated to a fun interactive activity at the Norwalk Public Library for Red Ribbon Week, a national campaign to protect young children from drugs.
High school students from our "TNP Teens" clubs performed skits in English and Spanish and led a craft project designed to help families talk about coping skills, safety, and drug awareness. TNP also gave out parenting handbooks, medication/marijuana lockbags and liquor stickers.
Download our Red Ribbon Week activity sheet to use with young children:
TNP Teens Clubs promote No Vape Norwalk
It's No Vape November and all month long, the TNP Teens Clubs at Norwalk High School/P-TECH and Brien McMahon/Center for Global Studies will use flyers and interactive activities to educate peers about the dangers of vaping and nicotine, and provide resources to those who want to quit.
Check out the youth-made posters & coalition videos on our Vaping page
Download and post our newest posters below.
Know someone who wants to quit nicotine? Get live coaching and nicotine replacement therapy resources from Commit to Quit CT ! There are specific resources for folks who are pregnant or postpartum as well as for teens.
Countdown to the Day of Training on 11/14
Twice a year, the SEH team at Norwalk ACTS organizes a free Day of Training where adults who work with Norwalk youth can gain skills to support the social-emotional needs identified in TNP's biannual youth survey. This fall, you can attend 1 or more of the following 4 workshops:
De-escalating & Redirecting Students through The Life Space Interview
Social Emotional Health 101
Body Wellness/Self Care
Disrupting Bias
If you're a mentor, coach, youth minister, security guard, teacher or para, bus driver... please consider attending these semi-annual events! The June Day of Training typically offers 12 to 16 free workshops. Please spread the word!
Shoutouts to our coalition! In-person meeting on 11/19 for Friendsgiving
November is a busy month for our coalition! Just a few of the things we've got going on involve many of you, so we'd like to give a special shoutout to:
the TNP Teen Club students making awareness videos about school-based resources;
coalition members who are making short videos for our "Hey Norwalk" series;
the providers joining our upcoming Wellness Fair at NHS/PTECH on November 20th;
our friends from Catalyst CT | The Hub, Kids in Crisis, the Norwalk Health Department, Liberation Programs, and Positive Directions who are providing Question-Persuade-Refer (QPR) suicide prevention training to all NPS middle and high school certified teachers on November 18th, 19th, and 20th;
the K-12 health teachers, PE teachers, and school counselors who attended the cannabis professional development day organized by Positive DIrections on Election Day, in collaboration with Norwalk, New Canaan, Weston, Westport and WIlton public schools;
and Norwalk Public Schools for making so many staff available and prioritizing these issues for their staff and students.
We're grateful to all of you for your active participation. To celebrate our hard work, we'll gather in person for a special Friendsgiving TNP coalition meeting! See you at the SoNo Branch of the Norwalk Public Library, 10 Washington Street on Nov 19th, 3-4:30pm.
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