Watertown Youth Coalition News!
November 2024
S.P.E.A.K. Week Shorts are quarterly events with the same spirit as the annual S.P.E.A.K. week, they are organized by the Wayside Multi Service-Center’s Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC) Peer Leaders and supported in part by funds form Wayside Multi-Service Center and Watertown High School. The WYC Peer Leaders organize fun-filled and educational events with activities; all of which equip youth with tools and information to make positive, healthy choices - especially pertaining to substance use, overwhelming stress, and mental health.
**Thank you to all the students who stopped by to hang out and participate!**
**Look out for The sounds of WHS Students playlists and for the date of our next event!**
Meet Martene!
We are thrilled to announce that Martene has joined the Wayside Youth & Family Support Network as a clinical intern at the Watertown Multi-Service Center. In her new role, Martene collaborates with Watertown middle and high school students through the Watertown Youth Coalition Peer Leadership Program, Community Innovations, 1:1 counseling sessions, and assisting with after school programs. She facilitates discussions on substance use, positive coping strategies, harm reduction, and decision-making from a preventative perspective. Additionally, Martene will assist in screening, assessing, and referring individuals at risk for substance use to appropriate community programs and resources.
Martene holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UMass Amherst (2018) and is set to graduate with a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Suffolk University in the spring of 2025. Her passion for working with youth and families has been evident throughout her academic career, and she is excited to continue this work at Wayside.
Outside of her professional commitments, Martene enjoys staying active by teaching fitness classes, reading, and cooking homemade meals. We are excited to have her on board and look forward to the positive impact she will make in our community!
W2B2
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. We welcome community members, teachers, organizations, etc. to join the work we are doing. Reach out to stephanie_sunderland@waysideyouth.org for more information.
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. We have two sub-committees at this time:
- Curriculum building for Peer Leader led trainings of peers and with staff to facilitate trainings for adults.
- Social Media and Social norming campaigns
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
-Increase youth's sense of belonging in school, home and community
- Raise awareness around the rates of substances in the community (young people and adults perceive different rates)
W2B2 also has a new evaluator, Data + Soul Research! Click the W2B2 Logo above to learn more!
Watertown Public Schools Youth Mental Health First Aid Training - TOMORROW! Nov 5th.
- Wayside offers Mental Health First Aid trainings for adults assisting youth, adults assisting adults, and teens assisting their peers/other teens. Wayside and Watertown Public Schools are currently scheduling Mental Health First Aid trainings for staff on November 5th, 2024!! Contact Stephanie Sunderland at stephanie_sunderland@waysideyouth.org for more information on future trainings for you and your organizations.