On September 12th, thirty-five community members including students from Green Mountain Tech & Career Center (GMTCC) and Peoples Academy (PA) participated in a Breakfast and Action Planning event at GMTCC. This was the second of a three part strategic planning series hosted by Healthy Lamoille Valley with the goal of preventing and reducing youth substance use and increasing the overall health and well-being of Lamoille Valley youth. This September session focused on vape and other tobacco and nicotine products.
Check out these quotes from participants about their takeaways from the event:
Brooke, an Allied Health student at GMTCC shared with the whole group that her priority is wanting to get more involved and join Healthy Lamoille Valley. She also expressed that the youth need to be leaders on this topic.
“The strategic planning breakfast was very helpful in engaging me in my community in a more hands-on way. I really enjoyed the strategies that we used in order to tie it back to our school. Being there made me feel like I had an impact on how school is going to change. I feel that we made a very good step in finding new ways to make a difference”.
– Ella, PA Sophomore
“I appreciated the opportunity to be listened to and heard by adults – people other than my peers.”
– Kailey, PA Senior
“I thought that it was great. Much of the things they said during the meeting I had no idea about, and I’m glad I know them now. I’m happy I was able to help and give my insights and opinions on the topics we discussed, and I’m looking forward to next time!”
– Tommy, PA Sophomore
“The Tobacco Strategic Planning Event was a great community effort. It was so helpful having a large number of engaged students attending.”
– Wendy Hubbard, Family and Child Health Coordinator / School Liaison, Morrisville Department of Health
“Attending as a person in recovery from addiction, I was amazed at the work being done on the prevention “side”. To see the number of students present and their enthusiasm to be involved was so encouraging when I think about the future of our community’s health. Healthy Lamoille Valley is doing some great work!!!”
– Kai Winter, Healthy Lamoille Valley Steering Team
“As Healthy Lamoille Valley has been an influential partner for Lamoille North for years, getting to be a part of their strategic planning process gives us an important view into their priorities for the future. Education and public health are intricately linked. By collaborating with HLV, the school district can help shape policies and programs that promote the well-being of our students, families, and the entire Lamoille North community. Schools play a pivotal role in fostering healthy behaviors, from nutrition education to substance use prevention, and more. By being a part of this process, Lamoille North can align its efforts with broader community goals.”
– Rene Thibault, Director of Marketing & Communication, Lamoille North Supervisory Union
The session began with participants identifying local conditions (a snapshot of who is doing what, where) and root causes (but, why?) of youth tobacco/nicotine/vape misuse. Then the groups discussed what actions are already in place, what are some possible action steps to take, what data/information is needed, and what equity considerations should be made. See the presentation slides from the event and the action steps the groups came up with.
Our third strategic planning session on youth alcohol misuse and prevention will take place on Tuesday, October, 24th from 8:30-11:30 AM at Green Mountain Support Services in Morrisville. The first hour is dedicated to Healthy Lamoille Valley’s 4th Annual Prevention Honors. Breakfast will be catered by Two Sons Bakehouse. Learn more and register.