Newsletter

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy holiday. SPAN and our community partners have lots of exciting programs planned for the new year.

If you are a parent or caregiver of a child in 5th-8th grade we invite you to join Conversations with Your Middle Schooler. A 3-part in-person workshop to help parents and caregivers gain confidence speaking with their tweens and teens about substance use. See details and registration link below.

If you are a parent of a middle or high schooler save the date: April 10, 2024 6:30PM. Back by popular demand, SPAN will be bringing back our popular presentation about MA Social Host Law. Event flyer and registration will be available after the new year.

We have a lot of great events to highlight this month and none of these events would be possible without our volunteers. Thank you to our many volunteers for all that you do to make SPAN and the Needham community healthier.

Massachusetts Ballot Question 4 could legalize psychedelics for therapeutic use. We are sharing the information below to help you educate yourself on what a yes or no vote means.

A special thank to our prevention partners at Natick 180 for the fact sheet provided.

If you would like to review additional resources the Boston.com article referenced at the bottom of the fact sheet has a good yes/no debate overview.

SPAN was off to a busy start this fall. The 3rd annual Needham Overdose Awareness Day vigil drew people from around the community to reflect on the lives lost to opioid overdose, raise awareness about how to reverse an overdose, and give hope tor those navigating substance use and addiction. October will find SPAN at events across Needham and in Natick. See the program announcements below.
 
Please join us on October 23 for the SPAN meeting featuring a presentation of the 2023 Metro West Adolescent Health Survey data on substance use and mental health behaviors. Bring your concerns and ideas for supporting Needham youth!

It’s been a busy spring for SPAN! On May 14 SPAN hosted a parent and community education event featuring Dr. Safdar Medina, Pediatric Director at Tri River Health Center. Dr. Medina and panelists Tamatha Bibbo, Sara Shine and Aideen Milligan shared information about the health harms of youth substance use and how parents can talk with their tween/teen about substances.
 

Thank you to all who attended our SPAN Parent Education event featuring Dr Safdar Medina, Tamitha Bibbo, and Sara Shine. We will send out the recording of the event as soon as it is ready.

We invite you to join us for our Spring Quarterly meeting next week. We will reflect on this past years accomplishments, celebrate our members, and cast hope for SPAN's future. Details are in the flyer below. All are welcome! 

Finally congratulations to SALSA's seven seniors graduating next weekend. They have all made a huge impact through their volunteer efforts and advocacy work.

The signs of spring are here!

SPAN is looking forward to spring activities, including the release of the 2024 Needham Parent Survey and hosting the parent education event, “Edibles, Vapes, and Spiked Seltzers: Tips for talking with your teen about drugs and alcohol in today’s world.” Scroll to see more information for both of these SPAN initiatives.
 
As always, community members are welcome at SPAN events and meetings. Please take a look at the upcoming SPAN action team meeting dates below.

We are excited to share an event announcement with the SPAN community from the Town of Needham Human Resources Department for a discussion, Navigating the Transgender Workplace Experience, with speaker Trevor Boylston.

Please see the flyer below for more information.

It has been a busy few months for SPAN. In August, we visited the annual NHS Athletic Coaches’ meeting to share the message that coaches are a protective factor for students. Two SALSA students joined the conversation to share their experiences as student-athletes.
 
The SPAN strategic planning work continued in August and September. Thanks to the contributions of Coalition members SPAN is ready to share an update on the strategic plan next month. See the flyer below to learn more about this meeting.

It’s been a busy summer of strategic planning for SPAN. Under the guidance of consultant, Amanda Decker of Bright Solutions, the coalition has met monthly to engage in evaluating the mission and priorities of substance use prevention in the Needham community. Using our data and the feedback from coalition members and Prevention staff, SPAN is on its way to updating logic models, prioritizing prevention strategies and creating a strategic plan for the next year.

Stay tuned to learn more about SPAN’s strategic plan this fall!

Thank you all for a fun and productive year! While most SPAN actions team meetings pause over the summer, SPAN strategic planning sessions are underway and will continue through August. It’s not too late to join these sessions. Please contact Karen Shannon if you’d like to get involved in strategic planning.

We appreciate our members and wish everyone a fun, safe summer