REACH NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2023
This year REACH Council held its 2nd Annual Rise Mental Health Conference. The theme was “Finding Your Strength.” The idea behind Rise 2023 was to learn how to apply mental resilience to one’s life. Mental resilience is learning how you can recover from life altering events, continue to move forward, and even learn how to thrive. Rise 2023's purpose was to teach individuals how to “rise” above any storm that they encounter in life.
WHAT’S INSIDE *Rise Conference Pages 1-3
*Staff Spotlight Pages 4-5
*Youth Prevention Education Page 6
*Youth Recovery Communities Page 7
The conference was held on the evening of Friday, October 13th and during the day on Saturday, October 14th. Pathway Church in Burleson was once again a gracious host and even provided FREE CHILDCARE for the attendees’ children.
*Coalition & Community Pages 8-18
*REACH Podcast Page 19
*Arts & Crafts
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Pages 20-22
*Upcoming Events Page 23
*Fundraising & Sponsors Page 24
*Contact Us Page 25
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Friday evening started out with finger foods and registration. The wonderful Sara Tynan, Wellness Encourager, opened things up as the Master of Ceremonies. She was a huge part of Rise 2023 and brought inspiration through her story of finding hope and courage from life’s trials. Claws Out brought a fun perspective, seeking to normalize mental health awareness by spreading “pawsitive” messages of acceptance. Cheyanne Davis closed the evening with her inspiring story of a recovering addict and trading grit for quit to live the life we are called to live. Saturday was filled with fun for the whole family, beginning with several outstanding keynote speakers. First, Jess Ekstrom opened the morning by “Chasing the Bright Side” and changing your energy from negative to positive. Next, Dr. Alex Korb, who wrote the best seller “The Upward Spiral”, discussed practical and effective approaches to recovering from depression. Finally, Dr. Cassandra LeClair closed the morning diving into the transformative journey of resilience and connected communication. The afternoon consisted of 12 different breakout sessions participants could choose. The topics included anxiety, neuroscience, art therapy, nutrition, burnout, resiliency, grief, resources, movement and suicide prevention.
Dr. Cassandra LeClair
Claws Out Comedy
Jess Ekstrom
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For lunch, participants could choose between Taps International Foods, Smoking Pig Barbecue, La Autentica Michoacana and Bondi Bowls. There were also over 20 resource tables for attendees to visit and the Pink Selfie Lab donated their 360 photo booth which was really neat. Rise 2023’s sponsor list was AMAZING including Texas Health Huguley Fort Worth South, Recognify Life Science and CSSi, Recovery Resource Council, Mind Above Matter, Discovery Point Retreat, Camp Gladiator- Jona Lowe and Pink Chandelier. We want our sponsors to know how thankful we are for helping the community normalize the importance of mental health. Additionally, REACH would not be able to hold this conference without the community's support. We appreciate everyone who helped and volunteered with Rise 2023! Please stay tuned for Rise 2024. We cannot wait to see what theme and topics we can bring to the community next year. If you are interested in being a part of Rise 2024 please reach out to Nikki Bowman at nikki.bowman@reachcouncil.org.
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STAFF SPOTLIGHT
Laura Gonzalez is a new Youth Prevention Specialist with REACH Council. Laura’s biggest joy in life is being a mom to her four children. Laura likes to go for walks and eat, and especially loves to do this friends! She is also a big fan of Star Wars! She especially loves that she gets to share in this nerdy indulgence with her children, who are also big fans!
Heather Kirchner is a new staff member with REACH Council as a Youth Prevention Specialist. She recently moved to Texas from Ohio. She grew up mostly in Ohio, attending The Ohio State University where she earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology. She currently in the process of getting her Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of North Texas at Dallas in hopes of later becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC). She currently lives with her identical twin. She enjoys trying foods from different cultures, cooking, drawing, painting, playing computer/video games and staying active by going for a walk outside or doing pilates.
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STAFF SPOTLIGHT
REACH staff dressed up for our 2nd annual Halloween costume contest!
“Pumpkin Pie”
“Peg Bundy”
“Jake from State Farm”
“Safety Deer”
“Dorothy”
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“Batman”
“A plant”
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YOUTH PREVENTION EDUCATION
August kicked off the start of the school year. Our Youth Prevention team has been busy in many schools teaching our three different curriculums. All of our schools are in full-swing and have been off to a great start. A big “thank you” to all of the school staff for helping everything go smoothly as we reach these awesome students! We wrapped up this quarter with our annual Red Ribbon Week presentations at various Ellis and Johnson County schools. Every year October 23rd-31st is a week for students to learn about living “drug-free” by celebrating Red Ribbon Week. We are able to utilize this as an opportunity to have numerous presentations in our schools, which include lessons such as Tobacco and Vaping, Peer Pressure and Friendship, The Effects of Alcohol on the Brain, and many more. It has also given us the chance to host educational lunch table presentations in the high schools and middle schools in many school districts throughout the two counties that we cover. This year many of the tables will include facts about the dangers of fentanyl as well as information about how to offer aid to someone in case of a potential opioid overdose.
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YOUTH RECOVERY COMMUNITIES Our pro-social events are regular, organized events designed to bring participants together to engage in fun activities with the goal of creating pro-social relationships while exploring team building skills, coping mechanisms, and creativity without the use of substances. This fall YRC has hosted a Homecoming mum making event for parents and youth, as well as a pumpkin painting and scrapbooking creative workshop! YRC also took youth to REACH’s Zombie Safari event at Cousin’s Paintball & had so much fun! We have our quarterly community service event approaching, where we will serve lunch and provide assistance with Bingo at the Midlothian Senior Center. Our participants are having so much fun, and so are we!
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
AUGUST
REACH staff participated in back-to-school events across Ellis & Johnson Counties. 1. Maypearl 2. Ennis 3. Waxahachie 4. Alvarado
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
REACH Council has been collaborating with Drew’s 27 Chains to offer law enforcement agencies and school districts across Ellis & Johnson Counties with a Fentanyl Awareness & Naloxone Training to better equip our communities in dealing with a Fentanyl Poisoning Crisis.
Joshua PD
Cleburne ISD Nurses
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
Ennis ISD
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
Red Oak ISD
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COALITION & COMMUNITY Ashley V. (right) and Gracie (left) at the Burleson ISD Teacher Support Training on August 2nd.
REACH staff participated in the first annual Ellis County Mental Health Symposium at the Waxahachie Civic Center on August 18th where they shared information about REACH Council and the Youth Recovery Communities program. Pictured are Shari (left) and Wendy (right). Alvarado Community Back to School Celebration included multiple vendors, yard games, and hamburgers/hotdogs served to increase connection within the community as we all adjusted to going back to school.
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
SEPTEMBER
RAJC held a coalition celebration party on September 7th. The 12 sectors of the coalition were celebrated and honored.
Burleson ISD
Johnson County Crime Stoppers
Center for ASD
REACH staff from left to right: Jen, Ashley V., Gracie, Shari, Nikki, Erica
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
On September 7th REACH participated in Cleburne ISD's Mental Health Awareness Night, the first night in a series of parent education nights. Pictured left to right are Gracie and Wendy.
REACH Across Johnson County sponsored and attended the Full Circle Women’s Conference put on by the Burleson Chamber of Commerce.
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COALITION & COMMUNITY REACH participated in the Ellis County Emergency Preparedness Event on September 9th in downtown Waxahachie sharing information on safe storage & disposal of medications and raffling off 4 MedSafes to participants. Pictured left to right are Cassie, Brenna, and Shari.
On September 12th REACH Across Johnson County partnered with Southwestern Adventist University to host the first stress relief night of the semester. Students participated in Mindfulness and a Movie.
REACH Across Johnson County partnered with Burleson ISD to provide parent education nights. On September 18th, the first parent education night’s topic was fentanyl awareness. DEA ASAC W. Guy Baker was the guest speaker. REACH provided Naloxone to parents and raffled off a MedSafe to use for safe storage of medications.
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
OCTOBER
Tuesday, October 3rd was National Night Out across the country. REACH staff participated in several local events throughout Ellis and Johnson Counties. Pictured below: Red Oak (top) and Alvarado (bottom)
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COALITION & COMMUNITY
October 17th REACH again partnered with Southwestern Adventist University to host a pumpkin painting night with their students.
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COALITION & COMMUNITY On October 2nd, REACH's own Gracie Gray spoke about the dangers of vaping to BISD parents. REACH also set up a Hidden in Plain Sight bedroom walkthrough to show examples of diversion items being used by teens.
On October 21st, the REACH “Sanderson Sisters” (from left to right: Laura, Ashley P. and Shari) participated in the Red Oak Fall Festival.
On October 28th, REACH teamed up with local law enforcement agencies for Rx Takeback Day. This is a nationwide effort to collect unused and expired medications for safe disposal by the DEA.
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REACH PODCAST
Our Reaching Out With REACH Podcast is a great resource for a variety of topics. We discuss the things our organization does for our community as well as great topics related to mental health, prevention, and recovery. This past quarter, Emma and Gracie talked about Fentanyl Awareness, Tom spoke about the Youth Prevention Program within our organization, and Elissa talked about Suicide Awareness. Check us out for monthly episodes on Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, Tunein, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Listen Notes, Samsung, and Podchaser.
REACHing Out with REACH www.REACHCouncil.org
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ARTS & CRAFTS
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ARTS & CRAFTS
Fall Leaf Wreath Supplies needed: Paper plates Glue Leaves Scissors
This is a great activity to do while you do your nature scavenger hunt or go on a nature walk. Simply collect lots of pretty leaves, and then when you come back home you can turn them into a beautiful wreath to hang. This activity encourages quality time together while also being a simple, fun project! If you like nature, time together and simplicity, this is the fall craft for you! www.REACHCouncil.org
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ARTS & CRAFTS
Creamy Roasted Garlic Butternut Squash Pasta
1 T extra virgin olive oil 2 C cubed butternut squash 6-10 cloves garlic 2 T fresh thyme leaves 2 T chopped fresh rosemary Crushed red pepper flakes Kosher salt and black pepper 8 slices prosciutto 1/2 C ricotta cheese 1 pound long or short cut pasta 2 T salted butter 1 T fresh chopped sage 1/2 C shredded gouda cheese 1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
1. Preheat oven to 400° F. 2. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, garlic, thyme, 1 tablespoon rosemary, and a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Arrange the prosciutto around the squash. Bake 20 minutes, check the prosciutto, then bake another 10-15 minutes, until the squash is tender. 3. Add the butternut squash, garlic, and ricotta to a food processor. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain. 5. In a large skillet, melt together the butter, sage, and 1 tablespoon rosemary. Cook until the butter is browning, then add the butternut puree and 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, stirring until combined. Melt in the gouda and parmesan. 6. Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to combine. If needed, thin the pasta sauce with a little of the reserved cooking water. 7. Divide the pasta between plates. Top with parmesan and prosciutto. Twirl the pasta up. EAT and ENJOY.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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FUNDRAISING & SPONSORS
THANK YOU to all of the sponsors for our Rise 2023 Conference!
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CONTACT US
Physical address: 208 S. 4th St., Midlothian, TX 76065 Mailing address: P.O. Box 598, Midlothian, TX 76065 Email: Info@ReachCouncil.org Phone number: 972-723-1053
Follow Us on Social Media REACH: @reach.council YRC: @YRC.Reach RAJC: @reachacrossjohnsoncounty
REACH: @reach_council YRC: @yrc.reach RAJC: @reachacrossjohnsoncounty
REACH: @REACHCouncil
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