NORWICH – Avoiding the teenage trapdoors along the pathway to adulthood is particularly challenging in rural counties such as Chenango’s where more and more families are receiving public assistance, residents can’t afford their property taxes and the opiate drug traffic has escalated.
To meet some of the challenges head on, the county is offering a one-day workshop for young people, ages 16-24, to help them navigate and successfully transition into adulthood.
“This workshop will consider strengths, needs, resiliency and protective factors, as well as the role and responsibilities of young people, their families, and the entire community in supporting a successful transition,” said Chenango County Mental Hygiene Services Director Ruth Roberts. “I hope it’s a beginning and hope it’s attended by multiple stakeholders, including youth and family members.”
The workshop, called “Building Community Bridges,” takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16 at the Norwich Campus of Morrisville State College, 20 Conkey Ave, Room 132 A/B, Norwich. Binghamton University Professor and Human Development Department Director Kevin N. Wright, Ph.D. is the featured speaker.
Dr. Wright has a background of studies in the behavior of incarcerated individuals and has focused on the relationship of family life and delinquency, particularly the long-term effects of neglect and abuse on human development. He has specifically concentrated on local communities and developed programs to keep youth from engaging in problematic behaviors, including committing crimes, using drugs and alcohol, school difficulties and school drop-outs, and becoming teenage parents.
Dr. Wright has been instrumental in the development and implementation of programs to improve parenting skills and behaviors and served as the evaluator for Project Hope, a teenage pregnancy prevention project funded by the Office of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Locally, he helped develop of the Broome County Gang Prevention Program and, in collaboration with Lourdes Hospital Youth Services, received a Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance “Make a Difference” grant. He has also collaborated with administrators from the Head Start Program to develop training for parents of highly aggressive children.
Dr. Wright will address the workshop group from 9:15 a.m. to noon and again from 12:45 to 1:15 p.m. There will be topical break out sessions in the afternoon.
The Building Community Bridges workshop is intended to be “a gathering of stakeholders,” Roberts said, in the successful transitioning of the county’s teenage population, and include “a call to action” to improve the existing system of care locally.
The event is made possible through a $5,000 federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Hygiene Services Administration. For registration information, phone 337-1604.