Posted: April 19 2005,15:15 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Yes
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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Sustainability through continued funding is a yearly challenge.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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In 2004, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative undertook the following activities:
Objective 1: Improve parents' abilities to talk to their children about drugs and alcohol o
Continued to develop the Parent Education And Resource Liaisons
(PEARLs) project to enhance the network between parents, schools, and
the community and to provide forums for parents to discuss issues
relevant to their children; recruited PEARLs for each of the Northfield
Public Schools o HCI and PEARLs sponsored and/or coordinated 24 parent education events, reaching 1,316 people; 7 events were in Spanish o
Developed a ?Welcome Wagon? project with the Northfield Public Schools
for newcomer families to the district, connecting them with available
resources and putting them in contact with a PEARL to answer questions o
Supported and supplied new materials to the Parent Resource Carts in
each Northfield Public School, containing grade-specific parenting
books, videos, and other resources available for checkout in English
and Spanish o Helped coordinate the ?Gotta Be There - As a Parent,
Not a Pal? parent education campaign, designed to educate Northfield
parents about substance use and effective parenting strategies o Supported the monthly distribution of the Parent Communication Network's (PCN) electronic parenting newsletter o Assisted with the recruitment of 150 new parents to the PCN o Coordinated a series of community roundtables held monthly on specific topics related to youth substance use o Coordinated events for both youth and parents about youth sexual activity and parent/child communication o Expanded development on the HCI website, with links to parenting websites and resources
Objective 2: Increase and enhance connections between youth and nurturing, caring adults o
Convened meetings of the Northfield Mentoring Coalition with
representatives of the local youth mentoring programs; sought to
increase collaboration and the number of mentoring matches; during
2004, the member agencies of the Mentoring Coalition matched 352 new
youth with adult mentors o Developed and supported a shared database
for Mentoring Coalition members, containing names, contact information
and interest areas of prospective mentors o On behalf of the
Mentoring Coalition, HCI assisted with the development of Connected
Kids, a mentoring program that will pair 120 high-risk Northfield
children with adults. The project received a $450,000 grant from
the U.S. Department of Education o Coordinated and sponsored 2
Spotlight on Youth events, reaching 76 Northfield youth and 50
Northfield adults; 92% of the youth attendees reported beginning a
positive relationship with an adult they did not previously know o
Supported 29 intergenerational events, involving 2043 youth and 969
adults; 83% of youth attending these events reported developing a
positive relationship with an adult they did not previously know;
partnered with the Northfield Union of Youth, Freepops, Reaching Our
Goals, Northfield Public Schools, Alternative Learning Center, Senior
Center, Community Action Center, Carleton College, Familias En Accion,
the Mother/Daughter Program and more o Continued to support an
assistant site supervisor/mentoring coordinator at the Middle School
Youth Center (MSYC). This person helps to engage the 50-75 middle
school youth who attend the center each day after school in
service-learning and entrepreneurial projects as well supports the
site-based mentoring matches at the MSYC o Contracted with Omada
Behavioral Health Services to provide assessments and support services
to Northfield youth using alcohol or drugs. This counselor met
with over 90 Northfield students in 2004 o HCI continued to partner
with Rice County Community Connections (RCCC) and Omada to provide
prevention and intervention services to Northfield youth. Funds
for these services come from RCCC. 56 Northfield youth received
these free services in 2004 o Served as a clearinghouse for local residents interested in being a mentor or finding a mentor for their child
Objective 3: Convene groups committed to positive youth development and increase community education about youth substance use o Convened monthly meetings of the HCI Board, Youth Plus Action Team, and Familias en Accion o
Administered, and compiled a school-based survey given to over 800
Northfield students, measuring the level of youth substance use,
attitudes about use, and the presence of risk and protective factors in
the community o Gave presentations about HCI, Northfield youth
substance use, and/or the benefits of intergenerational events to over
30 community groups o Planned two community summits on reducing youth substance use o
Organized a youth sports fair to inform low-income youth about
available sports opportunities; helped convene meetings of the
Northfield Youth Sports Collaborative and pursued funds for a joint
scholarship pool o Hosted the 3rd annual Helping Professionals
luncheon which brought together local service providers who work with
youth and families in an effort to build collaboration and introduce
providers to potential referral services o Hosted Dr. Peter Benson, of the Search Institute, to speak about asset-building at HCI's 10th Anniversary Mid-year Celebration o
Planned a series of trainings to educate youth service professionals on
identifying and responding to youth substance use. There were 13
trainings held in 2004 involving 152 local professionals who work with
youth o Supported the Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
group at the Northfield High School and their plans to educate middle
and high school students about the risks of drinking and drinking and
driving o Sponsored chemical-free activities for middle and high school students during non-school hours o Developed a database of community members interested in being mentors o Helping recruit youth for and supporting weekly enrichment activities at the Freepops summer program o
Worked with two groups of ?at-risk? youth to design marketing campaigns
to educate Northfield teens about the disparities between the
perception of youth substance use and actual use rates
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
The Northfield Healthy Community Initiative partners with the following:
City of Northfield Northfield Hospital Northfield Public Schools U.S. Dept. of Justice Northfield Union of Youth Kids Cafe Middle School Youth Center The Northfield Mentoring Coalition Rice County Family Services Collaborative Rice County Community Corrections Omada Behavioral Services Northfield Senior Center Carleton College St. Olaf College Familias en Accion Community Action Center
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
In addition to continuing the activities listed above, the Healthy Community Initiative plans adding the following:
o
At the end of 2004 HCI developed a ?Toolkit for Sponsoring a Chemical
Free Activity? and will disseminate the toolkit to over 30 community
groups. HCI will support these groups by sponsoring 20 chemical
free events in 2005 o HCI will assist the Rice County Family
Services Collaborative (RCFSC) and the Rice County Sheriff's Office
(RCSO) with the creation and dissemination of a plan to educate local
adults about why they should not provide alcohol, tobacco and other
drugs (ATOD) to youth and the legal consequences of providing
substances to young people o HCI will aid the RCFSC and the RCSO
with the institution of ?no use? policies for adults chaperoning or
attending school and youth activities
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Postal address of organization
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1651 Jefferson Parkway Suite 126 Northfield, MN 55057
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E-mail address of organization
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koehlersara@hotmail.com
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Website address of organization
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www.northfieldhci.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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www.northfieldhci.org
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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*Understanding, tolerance and solidarity
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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