Category Archives: MCAP – Medfeild Cares About Prevention

Student Mental Health & Substance Use – 5/8/23

From Medfield Outreach –

Medfield adolescent data & trends
Tips for talking with kids of all
ages
Risk & protective factors
Ongoing local prevention efforts
Discussion time
Additional resources
This event will include:
Monday,
May 8th
@ 6::30pm
ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH &
SUBSTANCE USE AMONG
MEDFIIELD STUDENTS
COMMUNIITY
CONVERSATIIONS
Join the Medfield
Public Schools &
Medfield Outreach for
Child care will be provided (ages Pre-K+).
Registration required. Scan to sign up.
Memorial School
*cafeteria
59 Adams St, Medfield
(doors open at 6:00pm)
*no pre-registration required to attend
these are important topics for caregivers of all ages

5th New Life 5k Trail Run 5/7

From Tod Dimmick –

The 5th New Life 5k Trail Run hits the trails on May 7th

New Life is excited to host its 5th annual Trail Run on Saturday, May 7th on the Medfield State Hospital grounds (at Hospital Rd. & Service Dr., Medfield, MA). The route winds through the beautiful Charles River Reservation, and the event is open to runners, walkers and everyone in between.

To celebrate being back in person after two years of virtual runs, New Life has partnered with the Cultural Alliance of Medfield to provide live music on race day. Also, the Furniture Matters club of Medfield High School will introduce a Kids Fun Run for children 4-10 years old.

Trail Run registration is open at www.newlifefb.org/5ktrailrun. An “early bird” discount registration of $25 is available until April 23; after that registration will be $30 between April 24 to May 5; and $35 on race day. On-site Kids Fun Run registration will be $5 (cash or check). There is a $5 group discount for teams of four or more when the registrations are made at the same time.  On-site registration opens at 7:30 on race day. The Kids Fun Run starts at 9:00, and the Trail Run starts at 9:30, with live music to follow. The first 300 people to register will receive a t-shirt on race day.

The Trail Run benefits New Life Furniture Bank of MA and its mission to provide essential home furnishings to those in need. “The funds we raise go directly to helping those coming out of homelessness to furnish their new homes,” said Rich Purnell, Executive Director of the New Life Furniture Bank.

New Life Furniture Bank of MA collects high-quality gently-used furniture and household essentials that are made available at no cost to individuals and families in need. The Medfield-based not-for-profit organization operates a Walpole Donation Center, and serves the MetroWest and Greater Boston area. New Life provides a meaningful option for folks who are downsizing, renovating or disposing of a loved one’s property.

Those interested in being a sponsor, volunteering, donating home furnishings, or making a financial contribution are encouraged to visit www.newlifefb.org.

MCAP interviewing MHS students

Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) is currently seeking 10-12 high school-aged volunteers to participate in one-on-one interviews with the substance use prevention coordinator or another Medfield Outreach staff about substance use in Medfield.  Students will not be asked about their own personal substance use or behaviors, but only to reflect upon what they see in their community. All information gathered during these interviews will be anonymized (no one will know who said what). Furthermore, the information collected will serve to help our MCAP coalition design impactful prevention strategies. These interviews will take anywhere from 30 minutes to one hour and are available both in person or via Zoom. All interviews will take place during the first three weeks of November.

If interested, please fill out this google form. If the student is under 18 years old at the time of the interview, parent/guardian consent is required. Consent forms will be emailed after they fill out the google form.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this email!

Warmly,

Meri

Meri Haas

Pronouns: She, Her, Hers (what’s this?)

Substance Use Prevention Coordinator, Medfield Outreach

Physical Address: 88R South Street

Mailing Address: 459 Main Street

Medfield, MA 02052

(508) 359-7121 x4

mhaas@medfield.net

medfieldcares.org

Drug Take Back Day – this Saturday

From Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP), a Medfield Foundation initiative –

Tim & Linda Bonfatti – MFi Legacy Fund founders

We give to the Medfield Foundation
Legacy Fund because we believe
deeply in the local initiatives it
supports, like Medfield Outreach
and Medfield Cares About Prevention.
Having this strong community
charitable foundation helps make
Medfield a special place and is the
reason why we have lived here for
over 25 years. Linda & Tim Bonfatti
We invite you to join us.
To learn more, please visit:
medfieldfoundation.org/legacy-fund

If you too value what Medfield has meant to your family, invest in its future by becoming a Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund founder too.

MCAP hosts hike for kids

Tweet today from Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) –
Medfield Cares About Prevention – MCAP
@MedfieldCares
Itching to get out of the house? Want to hang out with kids your own age? You’re in luck! *Join other youth and the Medfield Outreach department for a relaxing walk in the Rocky Woods Reservation!* To Register Visit forms.gle/u7auKc2FbomoLe Email medfieldyouthoutreach@medfield.net
5:06 PM · Aug 11, 2020Twitter Web App

Mental Health Awareness Month

green heart

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Look for the green ribbons and the green hearts around town to remind people that May is mental health awareness month.

 

Medfield residents – if you feel the need for mental health assistance, you can find counselors through Medfield’s subscription to the INTERFACE Referral Service – click or call INTERFACE (617-332-3666 x1411) to get:

  • INTERFACE’s no cost to you review of its database of local counselors
  • INTERFACE’s list of counselors who take your insurance
  • INTERFACE’s list of counselors who have availability to see new people
  • INTERFACE’s contact information for the counselors

 

INTERFACE is made available to Medfield residents without cost because of  underwriting from the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention, a Medfield Foundation initiative that pays the annual fee.

 

TO DONATE to the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention.

 

Call the INTERFACE® Helpline 617-332-3666 x1411 or 1-888-244-6843 x1411 WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE INTERFACE Referral Service Where can you learn about Mental Health Resources in or near your community? How can you access Mental Health Services for all ages? Find answers at the INTERFACE Referral Service. interface.williamjames.edu Call Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm to consult with a mental health professional about resources and/or receive personalized, matched referrals. For additional information and resources, please visit interface. wil liam james .edu/ community /medfield. Funding for this valuable service is generously provided by the Medfield Public Schools and the Town of Medfield.Interface cards_Page_2

 

Inaugural MFi Legacy Fund grant wins MCAP a huge Federal grant

mfilf-20191129-event

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund Grant Presentation Ceremony
(Pictured from left to right) Todd Trehubenko, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair; Christian Donner, Friends of the Medfield Rail Trail; Dawn Alcott, Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP); Jean Mineo of the Cultural Alliance of Medfield; Chris Cahill, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair

Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund Grant Pays Huge Dividends to Medfield

 When the Medfield Youth Outreach team from Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) submitted a grant request to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund team to hire Bright Solutions Consulting to review and assist with writing MCAP’s federal Drug Free Communities grant application, it seemed like a long shot. Those involved all believed that the goal of making Medfield a recognized Drug Free Community was worth pursuing.

The Legacy Fund team took a chance on MCAP and awarded it a $5,000 grant in November 2018 and MCAP immediately went to work with the consultant on their federal grant application. The grant request was submitted in early 2019 and the team waited for the big announcement. On November 6, 2019 it was announced that MCAP was awarded a FY 2019 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $625,000 paid over five years by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This grant will allow the coalition to hire a full-time prevention coordinator who will carry out evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing youth substance use in the Medfield community, services that have been proven to reduce substance abuse in other towns.

“The MCAP coalition owes the success of the DFC grant application to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund grant, which allowed MCAP to hire an experienced grant writer,” said Chelsea Goldstein-Walsh LICSW, the Interim Director of Medfield Youth Outreach. “We are looking forward to launching a proactive and comprehensive effort to decrease youth substance use and promote wellness in the community.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is an endowment established for the long-term benefit of the Medfield community which will also engage in annual grant-making to support community-driven projects. “This is exactly how we see the funds from the Legacy Fund being used to benefit Medfield,” said Todd Trehubenko, co-chair of the MFi Legacy Fund. “We think of the grants we can provide to be like an accelerant, helping add fuel to help grow programs and services that benefit Medfield residents.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund’s fundraising goal of $1,000,000 will enable the fund to grant annual funding requests. They are currently looking for founders/investors to help build the endowment which will enable this level of giving back to the community.

 

About Medfield Foundation

The Medfield Foundation (MFi) is a 100% volunteer run 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation whose mission is to enrich the lives of Medfield residents, build a stronger community, and facilitate the raising and allocation of private funds for public needs in the town of Medfield. Since its inception in 2001, the Medfield Foundation has raised over $2,300,000 (Yes, two million three hundred thousand dollars!) to support community-wide initiatives in Medfield.

MFi was founded based on the realization that some residents were interested in contributing more than town taxes to support projects and services that would enrich life in Medfield. You are urged to go to http://medfieldfoundation.org to learn more.

 

For more information please contact:

 

Todd Trehubenko, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair

617-785-5619

legacyfund@medfieldfoundation.org

 

or

 

Evan Weisenfeld, MFi President

508-740-4367

evan@medfieldfoundation.org

give local

MCAP Receives $625K Grant

MCAP Logo_1C_300

MCAP Announces Receipt of $625K Federal Grant

The Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) substance abuse prevention coalition, a Medfield Foundation Initiative, announced that it was awarded a FY 2019 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $625,000 over five years by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This grant will allow the coalition to hire a full-time prevention coordinator who will carry out evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing youth substance use in the Medfield community. Superintendent of the Medfield Public Schools and MCAP coalition member, Dr. Jeff Marsden, responded to the news of the grant award: "I'm so happy for our kids and community that we will have someone dedicated to substance use prevention. The collective efforts of MCAP really came through for our community and our district looks forward to this important work." Medfield is honored to receive this grant and is prepared to launch a proactive and comprehensive effort to decrease substance use. The goals of the Medfield Cares About Prevention coalition are to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to decrease youth substance use. The coalition will seek to achieve its goals by implementing the following strategies: providing information and support, enhancing skills, providing incentives and disincentives for youth substance use, changing the physical environment, and modifying policies. The coalition will specifically target alcohol and electronic vapor products and will promote positive alternatives to substance use through community collaboration. This successful grant application was made possible by the tireless efforts of coalition members, as well as by a coalition consultant, Amanda Decker of Bright Solutions Consulting. MCAP was able to contract with Bright Solutions Consulting thanks to a generous grant from the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund, an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest. Securing this mini grant of $5,000 positioned MCAP to secure grant writing consultation services and set the coalition up for a successful award of the DFC grant.

MCAP gets $625K Federal grant

MCAP Logo with URL_1C_300

Chelsea Goldstein-WalshChelsea Goldstein-Walsh, Interim Director of Medfield Youth Outreach announced this afternoon that Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) (www.MedfieldCares.org) was today awarded a Drug-Free Communities grant of $625,000, to fund a Substance Use Prevention Coordinator who will run MCAP’s  prevention efforts.  The Federal grant will pay MCAP $125,000 per year for five years,  with the hope that the Substance Use Prevention Coordinator position will become permanent after five years.  About 150 DFC grants nation wide were awarded this year.  Towns that have received past DFC grants have seen a statistical decrease is substance abuse.

Medfield Youth Outreach, first through Dawn Alcott and now Chelsea, initiated, oversee, and manage the MCAP coalition.  MCAP had come exceedingly close to getting the Federal grant in prior years it applied. 

This year, however, MCAP had the added benefit of having received a $5,000 grant from the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund’s 2018 inaugural round of grants, which monies MCAP used to hire a grant writer, thereby parlaying the Legacy Fund grant into the $625,000 of benefit for the Town of Medfield. 

 

mfi-legacy-fund

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is an endowment, created and being funded to make life better in Medfield.

mfilf-20191129-event

Above photo was from the inaugural Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund grant awards celebration. From L to R are Todd Trehubenko, Christian Donner of the Medfield Rail Trail, Dawn Alcott of MCAP, Jean Mineo of the Cultural Alliance, and Chris Cahill (Todd and Chris are the Co-chairs of the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund’s Community Board).

 

The following was Chelsea’s email announcing her good news to MCAP –

********************************************************************

I am happy to report that Medfield Cares About Prevention was selected as one of the Drug-Free Communities grant recipients for this funding cycle! Our town will receive $125,000 a year for 5 years ($625,000 total) to implement prevention strategies aimed at reducing youth substance use. You can see the list of recipients here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/FY-2019-DFC-New-Grant-Award-Recipients-10.29.2019.pdf

Thank you all for your hard work in making our grant application a success! Our next step is to solidify the hiring process for a full-time coalition coordinator with the grant funding to help us implement this work. Our next MCAP meeting on Monday, November 4th at 11:30 am will largely be dedicated to coming up with a hiring plan. I’ve attached a copy of the job description for the coalition coordinator for your reference.

Congratulations to you all for this successful team effort!

Warmly,

Chelsea

Medfield Youth Outreach