JANUARY 2022
REACH NEWSLETTER THE EFFECTS OF COVID 2 YEARS LATER HOW OUR MENTAL HEALTH SUSTAINABILITY IS IMPORTANT IN THESE TIMES by Kristal Whitaker As we start off the new year with hopes of a world free from Covid19, we can’t help but to pay attention to cases rising daily. Coming up on the start of year three, we are still battling with a deadly virus that is not only affecting the financial circumstances of our lives, but also the mental and physical well being of people all over. According to statista.com, “over 762 thousand new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States on January 21, 2022. Between January 20, 2020 and January 21, 2022 there have been around 68 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 with around 852 thousand deaths in the U.S. as reported by the World Health Organization”. Day by day as we see and hear about increasing cases, many of us
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try to imagine a day and life prior to or without Covid. Trying to forget
Youth Prevention Education
the pandemic for even a little while may sound like a fantasy for most.
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The pandemic has been around far longer than anyone expected and
Youth Recovery Communities
is not going to disappear overnight. Our human nature makes it easy
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for us to forget things when they are not being talked about or are not
Coalition & Community
as noticeable as they once were. What may not be talked about as much is something far more than what we could even expect. We hear about the symptoms Covid causes and physical effects it may have, but we rarely pay notice to how others' mental health may play a part in all this. Many people face day to day challenges caused by the virus that can be stressful and overwhelming. Although being stressed and overwhelmed may seem minor when discussing a
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deadly virus, over time these stressful factors can turn into something
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greater. Serious mental health problems can occur with ongoing and
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recurring stress levels, including anxiety, depression, and various personality disorders. We have been trying to make the best of this situation but mentally, some are completely over it. My advice to you is to keep pushing, keep fighting, and keep hope. Check on your loved ones and lend a helping hand where you can, we all could use some words of encouragement. If you are struggling mentally and need someone to talk to or need guidance, REACH Council will always be a resource for our community. Stay strong and do not give up! Resources - (https://www.statista.com/statistics/1102816/coronavirus-covid19cases-number-us-americans-by-day/)
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A NEW YEAR MESSAGE FROM REACH COUNCIL'S CEO
"Reflecting & Progressing" by Tasha Taylor, MPH, CPH, MCHES How is it possible that it’s already 2022? As we venture into all that this new year holds for our agency and the communities served by REACH, I am overwhelmed by feelings of pride, gratitude, and excitement. I am extremely proud of our staff for all that they have accomplished over the past two difficult years. As many of you can relate, 2020 threw us a major curveball when students weren’t able to return to school after Spring Break. Eventually families were thrown into complete quarantine when public places and businesses began to close. Social interaction as we knew it essentially ceased and everyone entered a new reality of isolation connected only to classmates and co-workers through Zoom lessons and virtual meetings. We can all recall the uncertainty that accompanied such sudden changes to our routines as well as the strain that it put on the education system and workforce throughout 2020. Not to mention the sadness and hardships that so many people were experiencing due to illness and loss as the pandemic started hitting closer to home and affecting people that we all knew and loved. Without hesitation, REACH staff rallied together to ask, “how can we help students and families when we can't be in our schools and out in the community?” They focused on ideas to promote bonding for families during quarantine. They created and implemented a wonderful large-scale project that resulted in distributing 2300 family care packages via summer lunch programs and community partners so that home-bound students could have fun, educational and engaging activities to do with their families.
I could boast endlessly about the lengths that REACH staff went to for ensuring a continuation of service delivery, but none of their efforts would have been possible without our school and community partners. I have a great deal of gratitude for the teachers, counselors, principals, and community leaders who worked so diligently with us to continue providing our valuable services. I’m also grateful to our Board of Directors who trusted us to modify the typical service delivery structure that had been the norm for over 30 years. Our staff worked tirelessly obtaining modification approvals from the state and curriculum developers, and they began recording all their typical in-person lessons and presentations so that schools and community sites could still receive information despite our staff being unable to physically participate. With administrators recognizing the importance of keeping our services available, they went to great lengths to make accommodations for our staff to teach remotely or incorporate their pre-recorded materials into student lesson plans. Without this cooperation, our services would have been missing from the community for the first time in three decades. I am thankful for the persistence of everyone involved, and for all the effort that went into these collaborations to ensure a continuum of services, albeit in quite a different way than ever before. 2021 gave us hope with somewhat of a resurgence of normalcy, as businesses and schools reopened in whatever capacity they could. We began to hear of new COVID variants just as some states and municipalities were lifting the lockdown. Local governments, school districts, businesses and individuals have since been forced to make difficult decisions as everyone seeks to find balance between individual freedoms and public health mandates. Regardless of anyone’s stance on social distancing, masks, or vaccinations, I think we can all agree that over the past two years we've had to adapt to change in more ways than we ever thought possible. (continued on Page 3) REACH NEWSLETTER | PAGE 2
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The pandemic has left sadness, hardship, and stress in its wake for many individuals and families. With such a dismal list of after-effects, and with the uncertainty of new variants continuing to affect people, we’re all left to wonder how we can be optimistic about the future. I try very hard to be a "glass half full" kind of person, so while I don’t want to ignore the challenges of the last couple of years, I think the best thing I can do for REACH is focus on how far we’ve come, celebrate what we’ve accomplished, and be excited for all that we have planned. Among the accomplishments to celebrate are the multitudes of people reached through our combined programs across two counties. REACH served 20,411 unduplicated individuals in FY20, and 24,243 unduplicated individuals in FY21. I’m also beyond impressed with the efforts taken by REACH program staff to provide stress-relief kits to our schools and nonprofit organizations. To date they’ve assembled and distributed 500 boxes containing informational resources and stress-relief items to 17 community partners and 21 school districts throughout Ellis and Johnson Counties. I am so excited for the growth of our agency and programs, which ultimately means the expansion of services available to our community. Recently, REACH Council was awarded a five-year state grant to serve adolescents and young adults in recovery, and we were awarded a five-year federal grant for our Drug Free Communities coalition in Johnson County. Additionally, each state-funded coalition in Texas received an 18 month grant to address and reduce COVID-related stress in our respective communities. These three new funding sources have allowed us to hire four amazing new staff members, purchase relevant program materials, and begin serving individuals in recovery as well as growing our volunteer coalition membership. We are in the planning phase for several new and exciting projects within these programs, and I am excited to see the positive outcomes for the people who get to participate and benefit from these new services, including the COVID-relief projects. While we are very blessed to receive federal and state funds for the programs that we offer free of charge to students, families, and community members, these grants do not provide for 100% of program costs. We still rely heavily on local support to supplement the full cost of program implementation. We’re so grateful for the contributions we receive from school districts, board members, fundraisers, and private donors, and in return, we’re dedicated to offering the high level of prevention and recovery services that our communities have come to rely on. I hope that you have enjoyed this quarterly newsletter over the past couple of years, and I'm grateful to the volunteers who contribute material, edit and create the newsletter. All of us at REACH Council appreciate your support, and we'll continue to share our agency accomplishments, community member and student successes, and highlights of program events and activities. I encourage anyone who is interested in prevention activities to reach out to any of our staff members to inquire about volunteer opportunities including board membership. I also encourage anyone who is in recovery or wants to be in recovery to contact one of our directors to inquire about our recovery services including individual and family support. Finally, while REACH was founded to primarily address substance abuse, we also offer a variety of presentations and resources for other topics including mental health, social/emotional learning, suicide prevention, relationship violence prevention, cyber safety, bullying, trafficking, etc. Staff contacts can be found on our website, and we welcome any requests for services. As I approach my 10th year anniversary with REACH, I reflect on a journey that has been filled with more ups than downs, more laughs than tears, more accomplishments than struggles, and more optimism than uncertainties. I am blessed to be part of such an amazing and passionate team and work family. It is truly a privilege to serve as the CEO of REACH Council, and I am certainly looking forward to all that the coming year has in store. I’m beyond proud of our staff, interns, board members and volunteers for their dedication to our mission. I’m blessed to have two other Chief Officers and two Program Directors who go above and beyond every day to assist me in leading our staff and keeping our programs functioning so smoothly. I’m grateful to our schools and community sites for allowing us to serve, and I’m excited for new opportunities to bring prevention and recovery services to those who need them. Best wishes to everyone for a safe, healthy, and happy 2022!
STAFF SPOTLIGHT Ashley Paramore Ashley was hired on as a Youth Prevention Specialist at REACH Council a little over 2 years ago. She has a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education from Texas Christian University, with a supplemental certification in Special Education, and has always enjoyed working with children. She and her son (and their dog Koda) live in Midlothian. Her favorite color is purple, she enjoys opportunities to be creative, and she loves to travel.
Gracie Gray Gracie Gray started at REACH as an intern in January of 2021, and she was officially hired as a youth prevention specialist in July of that year. Gracie received a BS in psychology from The University of Texas at Arlington in 2020, and she is currently working towards her Master of Social Work degree. Aside from work and school, she loves going on road trips, binging her favorite crime shows, and spending time with her family.
Stephanie Choice-Farkasdi REACH Council was graced with the presence of Prevention Specialist Stephanie Choice-Farkasdi summer of 2021. WIth a background in Special Education, radio and psychology, this mother of 3 and military spouse has been a wonderful addition to our REACH family and the communities we serve. When asked how she came to REACH after almost 4 years with Child Protective Services, Stephanie states that she feels like REACH chose her, and they did!
Elissa Duren Elissa Duren is a Prevention Specialist at REACH Council. She has a BA in Psychology from Midwestern State University and has been working for REACH for about 7 months. She loves working with students in small group and large group settings and seeing all of their wonderful progress. Outside of work, Elissa enjoys spending time with friends and family, hanging out with her pets, reading books, and playing video games. REACH NEWSLETTER | PAGE 4
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ARTS & CRAFTS Chicken Taco Soup 1 can black beans (drained & rinsed) 1 can pinto beans (drained & rinsed) 1 can petite diced tomatoes (undrained) 1 can sweet corn (drained) 1 can (12.5 oz) chicken breast (drained & flaked) 1 can (10 oz) green enchilada sauce 1 can (14 oz) low-sodium chicken broth 1 packet taco seasoning 1/2 teaspoon cumin 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder Combine all ingredients into a large soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling reduce heat to low and let simmer for at least 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sour cream, and avocado! https://togetherasfamily.com/7-can-chicken-taco-soup/
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YOUTH PREVENTION EDUCATION Spring is in the air (although it’s wintertime here in Texas) and while COVID 19 still plagues most of us with uncertainty, we at REACH are super excited to begin our Spring 2022 semester! REACH Council is at it again in person with a brand new schedule, new schools, and new kiddos to connect with!
REACH has begun facilitating the curriculum of Kids Connection (developed by Rainbow Days) in schools in Midlothian ISD (Miller Elementary School, Longbranch Elementary School, Vitovsky Elementary School,and McClatchey Elementary School). We are also offering curriculums in Burleson ISD which includes Frazier Elementary, Brock Elementary and Hajek Elementary Schools. Sam Houston Elementary School in Ennis ISD is also being served. Kids Connection is a prevention program for elementary aged students. They are conducted in small group settings to address topics that include making healthy choices, goal-setting and building positive selfesteem. REACH Council is also conducting Life Skills Training for Midlothian ISD’s Irvin Elementary School in which the curriculum focuses on building essential life skills that will help give students the foundation to make good, healthy choices as they grow up. REACH Council has also been busy teaching Too Good For Drugs (Mendez Foundation) which is a prevention program for middle and high school students, conducted in a classroom setting with lessons including teaching prevention strategies and coping skills to help kids avoid unhealthy situations. This spring semester, REACH Council will be servicing TGFD for Italy ISD (Italy High School), Joshua ISD (Loflin Middle School and Nichols Middle School), and Midlothian ISD (Walnut Grove Middle School). These are difficult times we are experiencing, but at REACH Council we are determined to continue to service our communities in Johnson and Ellis counties so that our kiddos know that they are cared for and important.
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YOUTH RECOVERY COMMUNITIES As we head into the new year, the YRC team is working diligently to continue building our community partnerships in an effort to provide our participants and their families with new experiences and opportunities as they work towards recovery.
This semester specifically, families will be given the opportunity to get involved in our PAWS equine program, become members of the Blueline Boxing Club, join our tutoring program, attend our peer support groups, and so much more! REACH NEWSLETTER | PAGE 7
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COALITION & COMMUNITY REACH Council got into the spirit of the holiday season by participating in many community activities and festivals. The Midlothian Downtown Business Association had their annual Scarecrow Festival and REACH Council received 3rd Place in the Non-Profit Division. December was a busy time with the Christmas in Red Oak Festival, Southern Star Christmas Festival in Midlothian, followed by the Story Book Christmas Lighted Parade, and the Waxahachie YMCA Santa Run. Waxahachie YMCA Santa Run Midlothian Downtown Business Association Scarecrow Festival
REACH Council placed 3rd in the non-profit division
Southern Star Christmas Festival in Midlothian REACH NEWSLETTER | PAGE 8
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COALITION & COMMUNITY The “Reach Across Johnson County” Radio Show wanted to spotlight a few community resources with special guest Charise Olson, Founder & Executive Director of ReInspire, and The BRiCks very own Daniel Shafer, Burleson Parks & Recreation Center. We also had the opportunity to visit with Dr. Crystal Collier to discuss “What To Do If My Child Is Using Marijuana”. Finally, we had a discussion about Human Trafficking Awareness with guest LaViza Matthews with TxDOT. January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month!
Charise Olson (on left) Founder & Executive Director of ReInspire LaViza Matthews with TxDOT
Dr. Crystal Collier (on right) author of The NeuroWhereAbouts Guide
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Daniel Shafer (on left) Burleson Parks & Recreation Center
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
On January 26, 2022, Reach Across Johnson County Coalition taught the Senior and Junior students at Alvarado High School an education piece on "Making Good Decisions on Prom Night".
Reach Across Johnson County has a new office location at 406 Granbury Street Cleburne, Texas 76033. Reach will be hosting a ribbon cutting in the early spring.
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UPCOMING EVENTS On February 17-19, 2022 students in Johnson County can attend "Prom with a Purpose" to pick out a FREE prom dress or suit for Prom. It will be held at the First Baptist Church in Burleson, Texas. We are looking for dress and/or suit donations, so if you have any clean, new, or like-new dresses or suits please contact us!
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FUNDRAISING & SPONSORS Our annual Cupid Shuffle 5k fundraiser event has been postponed until the fall!
This annual fundraiser benefits our REACH Council Community and School Programs for youth drug and alcohol prevention. Use the QR Code below to follow our Cupid Shuffle FB Page to stay up to date with news and updates.
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REACH PODCAST REACHing Out With REACH is back and better this year, with all new content and topics you don't want to miss. Stay tuned for our month to month conversations surrounding prevention and recovery for all! Each month you can expect to tune in and learn about substance abuse and misuse, programs we offer here at REACH, upcoming events, life skills and tips to promote and sustain a healthy lifestyle and so much more. Tune in to https://www.podbean.com/pu/pbblog-qbdkp-a69c74 to stay up to date each month. Each podcast we discuss news and topics about things that matter most to us and reflect our mission to "support safe and healthy choices vital to the well-being of our youth, families and community". Join our staff as they uncover tips on prevention and recovery, and create fun conversations focused on their passions and interests in the prevention and recovery field. Make sure you follow us on our social media platforms and subscribe to our podcast streams to stay up to date with the latest REACHing out with REACH podcast. You can tune in via: Apple Podcast Google Play Music Podbean Spotify Stitcher Amazon/Audible Pandora TuneIn/Alexa PlayerFM ListenNotes iHeartRadio Podcast Addict Deezer YouTube January 2022 Podcast https://ReachCouncil.podbean.com/e/overlap-between-human-trafficking-and-substance-abuse/
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FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA REACH: @reach.council YRC: @YRC.Reach RAJC: @reachacrossjohnsoncounty
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CONTACT US Physical address: 208 S. 4th St., Midlothian, TX 76065 Mailing address: PO Box 598, Midlothian, TX 76065 Email: Info@ReachCouncil.org Phone number: 972-723-1053 REACH NEWSLETTER | PAGE 14
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