Watertown Youth Coalition News

"Little Local Conversations" is a podcast directed and produced by Watertown resident, Matt Hanna. Matt came to one of our peer leadership meetings, where three seniors reflected on life as a young person growing up in Watertown. What is it like growing alongside an evolving city? What are young people's experiences with the COVID pandemic and high school demolition?

Stay tuned for an announcement from the Watertown Youth Coalition when the episode drops!

SparkShare is a Boston-based company that connects peer leadership groups from around the state. SparkShare understands that "good ideas don't emerge in isolation" and that there is power in brainstorming collectively. The WYC peers were able to participate in their first SparkShare summit at the end of 2024, we look forward to continuing our work with SparkShare!

The Peer Leaders lucked out last week with good weather and better vibes! Thank you to all who stopped by for hot chocolate and congratulations to our raffle winners! Stay tuned for our next S.P.E.A.K. Week springtime short!

Do you need community service hours? Are you someone who wants to make an impact on their peers, school, and community? Join Peer Leadership!!

- Create and Host the kinds of activities YOU want to see at Watertown High School!

- Earn Community Service and Gift Cards!

- Public Speaking Opportunities!

- Meet peers from around the state with similar passions!

Email Christina_Lupica@waysideyouth.org or ask your guidance counselor for more information!

W2B2 (Waltham, Watertown, Belmont, Brookline) Youth Wellness Collaborative's strategic plan has been approved, through the DPH MassCALL 3 grant. This is a "cluster grant" between Watertown, Waltham, Belmont, and Brookline. Join members of W2B2 to tackle a plan for next steps!

Your feedback and participation are essential to making this work! We developed a logic model and action plan to implement programming that promotes and improves the health and wellness of young people from these four communities; particularly around preventing substance misuse and mental health crises. Eventually, we would like to form subcommittees and work groups for specific areas of interest.

Our Primary Goals:

- Increase understanding for youth about how to recognize a trusted adult and increase self-efficacy

- Increase adults' understanding of the pressures youth are experiencing and how to support youth as a trusted adult

- Raise awareness around the rates of substances in the community (young people and adults perceive different rates)

W2B2 Meets the First Monday of every month - 11:30AM -12:30 PM

Wayside is able to offer Mental Health First Aid trainings for adults assisting youth, adults assisting adults, and teens assisting their peers/other teens. The following groups were recently trained:

- Brookline High School Peer Leaders in Teen Mental Health First Aid

-UMass Boston 3rd Year Nursing Students in Mental Health First Aid

- Watertown Public Schools Instructional Assistants in Youth Mental Health First Aid

- UMass Boston Student Center Staff in Youth Mental Health First Aid

- Newton Boys & Girls Club Staff in Youth Mental Health First Aid

Interested? Contact Stephanie Sunderland at stephanie_sunderland@waysideyouth.org for more information

reach out to:

Stephanie Sunderland-Ramsey at stephanie_sunderland@waysideyouth.org

or

or Christina Lupica at christina_lupica@waysideyouth.org