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March 16, 2020 Dear Arizona Youth Partnership Community, Considering COVID-19 and recent state and federal guidance, we have made several changes. As we serve 10,000 youth and families directly across 13 counties with 90 staff who travel throughout Arizona, we know it’s time to postpone our activities to do our part to help stop the spread of this virus. We are not conducting school-based programs through the school closure and possibly beyond. Before the closure, we were reaching out to give alternate activities to schools. Community Based programming has been postponed or moved virtually as available Please reach out to your local contact for more information on upcoming programs Our youth shelters in Mohave and Yavapai counties remain open with strict precautions in place for the sanitation of the facility and the safety of the youth. Please contact us if you would like specific information on what we are doing to keep youth and staff safe. Open Doors Community School is closed along with all other Arizona schools at least through March 27. We are committed to continuing to provide prevention services throughout this period in a different way. In this time, our youth need positive skills and influences. If you would like to partner with us to move our programs online, please reach out and let us know what we can provide virtually to your population. Our staff remains available via email, or phone. Voicemails will be returned within 24 hours. Although we are working on social distancing as a Nation, we know we need each other more than ever. We’ll get through this together. Be healthy and stay safe. Regards, Lori Malangone CEO

I invite you to take a minute to look back on your own childhood. The chances are great that who you are today, how you think, what you do, what you have achieved, what your culture is, etc. was greatly influenced by the mentorship you did (or did not) receive from adults in your life. It is critical that youth are engaged with positive role models and mentors, especially through times of difficulties and ACEs, Adverse Childhood Experiences. As we face a global crisis of COVID-19 and struggle with unemployment, widespread fear, social distancing, and isolation, it is important that we do not forget the youth in our lives, and this does not only include your direct children. Whether you have students that you work with through a school, youth in a mentorship program, scouts in your troop, youth in a healthcare setting, kids from down the street who like to visit you, youth on a team you coach, or any other role involving youth, I do not believe we as adults realize the impact and mentorship that we have on them. During these times, youth need trusted adults the most. In college I volunteered for an amazing organization called Gabriel’s Angels with my certified therapy dog. We visited at-risk youth in a variety of settings, working specifically with the students labeled as “behavior difficulties”. These students truly did not enjoy coming to school, but also acted up the week before summer break because as much as they hated school, going home was even worse. It took two years for these students to share this with me… two years! Can you imagine growing up feeling alone and hopeless? Without a mentor or a meaningful adult relationship? The takeaway point: the youth in your life may not have opened up to you about what truly goes on in their life, or how much your presence in their life is making an impactful difference. During times like these, they need you the most. So how can you help? The following link includes a checklist with 19 creative ideas for developing relationships during the COVID crisis, including ways to reach out while maintaining proper quarantine restrictions. https://www.search-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Coronavirus-checklist-Search-Institute.pdf?utm_sourc Nicole Marlin is a Youth and Families Educator for Arizona Youth Partnership, serving the White Mountains area.

In the face of this pandemic, we are hearing about how to take care of ourselves to prevent contracting and spreading COVID-19: we are washing our hands more frequently, being more mindful about covering our coughs and sanitizing surfaces. Communities are practicing social distancing, sheltering in place, quarantine all in consideration of our health and the health of those around us. But what affect is all of this having on our mental well-being and the mental health of those we care about? The new “normal” each of us is experiencing right now can cause us to have a lot of different feelings. Are you overwhelmed by the constant barrage of new information you are seeing the on news and on social media? Worried about the impact of lost income as businesses close on a temporary or permanent basis? Antsy because you are a very social creature and you can’t do things you would normally be doing (with the people who mean the most to you)? Angry because major plans (including graduations and weddings) have been cancelled or postponed? Tired of hearing “we’re all in this together”, “we’ll get through this” or “at least you’re healthy”? It is absolutely okay to be feeling…whatever it is you are feeling. That said, in order to keep mentally healthy, we have to be honest about those feelings, find someone to process them with and most importantly find healthy ways to deal with these thoughts and emotions. It’s not going be as simple as “snap out of it”, “find something to do at home”, “this too shall pass”. If we are going to take care of each other, we have to take care of ourselves first. This article has some tips on how to do that. | How to Care for Yourself While Practicing Physical Distancing Now take it one step further: imagine that someone you care about/have frequent contact with is having all of those feelings but they were dealing with a mental health concern before COVID-19 was part of our everyday lives and it seems they are struggling much harder or not dealing well at all. Maybe their depression or bi-polar disorder is keeping them from reaching out for help – from you or anyone. AzYP is proud to be providing Mental Health First Aid training throughout Pima County and are eager to share the resources at our disposal to help the community walk through this stressful time. This article can provide some tips on how to reach out to someone who might need you.

Thank you for your past support of Arizona Youth Partnership (AZYP) on Arizona Gives Day and throughout the year. I’m reaching out to tell you how AZYP is handling this day differently this year. We know that many organizations are in tremendous need to even keep their doors open and keep their staff employed. Through your past generosity, we are blessed to have stable funding at this time during this crisis. In a normal year, we would be asking you to consider giving to us again. This year, we are asking for something different. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in ways we cannot have imagined, and I’m sure there are more changes to come. Our commitment to the youth and families of Arizona is unchanged. Our mission is to build solid foundations for youth and families by partnering with Arizona communities to prevent and solve local issues such as substance abuse, youth homelessness, lack of educational opportunities, teen pregnancy, and challenging family dynamics. Our shelter teams in Kingman, Bullhead City, and Prescott Valley have continued to care for the youth entrusted to their care. Our case workers for the Starting Out Right program that supports pregnant and parenting teens continue to serve their clients via online video chat, email, and telephone. The remaining facilitators and administration staff have transitioned to teleworking. The incredible creative minds of our staff have, with the help of our curriculum publishers, been coming up with new and innovative ways to reach the at-risk youth of Arizona. Our programs are taught in partnership with dozens of schools around the state, and with the announcement that school will not be in session again this year, we will continue to work to find ways to assist in the delivery of our greatly needed prevention programs. As I said earlier, Arizona Gives Day is coming up next Tuesday, April 7th. This year, here is what we would like to ask: Follow Governor Ducey’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy, Stay Connected order of March 30, 2020. By physically isolating ourselves, we can slow the curve of community spread; Strengthen your family by having dinner together, playing board games, and enjoying this unexpected time together; Send messages of hope to essential workers via social media by using the hashtag #thankyouessentialworkers; Support local blood drives, blood banks have reached a critical shortage during this time. Open Doors Community School will be hosting a blood drive on April 8th at 13644 Sandario Road, Marana, AZ 85653. AZYP will be hosting a drive on April 14th at 7575 W Twin Peaks Road, Tucson, AZ 85743. You can sign up for either of these drives at this link. That’s it! Of course if you are able and would like to participate in Arizona Gives Day for Arizona Youth Partnership, you can click here, and donate during the the power hour from 9-10am, or all day! If you are using this time to complete your taxes, and would like to make a tax credit eligible donation, you can do that at azyp.org/donate. Most of all, we want you and your family to be safe and healthy. We are continuing our mission. Our staff is working on innovative ways to go virtual for the current time, and we look forward to delivering our services to youth and families in person again throughout Arizona when this pandemic is over. In health, Lori Malangone Chief Executive Officer

As part of Prevention Week (May 15-20,2020) several of our Coalition staff are interviewing people in the community regarding youth substance abuse. Today, Leo Ventresca, Prevention Coordinator in Bullhead City, AZ speaks with Ronny Jones, a Peer Support Specialist. Ronny shared with Leo his story of drug abuse at a young age, and the things he feels may help youth stay away from substance abuse in the future.

Dear AZYP community, We are heartbroken. In the midst of a global pandemic that has resulted in the death of many individuals and economic destruction, we are confronted with events making us face the inequality and injustice that we know exists in our society. We acknowledge those who have faced these firsthand, those who are our staff, our participants, and those in the communities we serve. AZYP stands firm in our opposition to racism, hatred, violence, and discrimination. We are proud to serve diverse communities in 14 counties across Arizona. Everything we do is in partnership with feedback and input from our communities and participants. We’re listening, and we will keep working for change as we fulfill our mission to empower youth to become healthy adults who can contribute to their own communities in positive ways. With so many others in our nation and alongside our local partners and communities, we will do what it takes to do better. Warm Regards, Lori Malangone CEO, Arizona Youth Partnership

AZYP Community Initiatives Leader Mary Anne Fout shared this article from one of our community partners today, Prevent Child Abuse Arizona. During these times, the right words can be hard to find as we talk to our children. We hope this article is helpful to you as well.

As the COVID 19 Pandemic stretched into the summer months, not knowing what the future would bring, our youth educators began to plan a virtual Summer Leadership Institute. In prior years, our Sahuarita camps are completely full with a waiting list of youth ages 12-18 participating in team building and leadership activities. This year, our creative team was able to put together a week-long virtual camp. On the Saturday prior to camp beginning, the facilitators delivered all of the materials for the upcoming weeks activities to the students homes. The students completed 25 lessons from Real Essentials, a healthy relationship curriculum. Additional activities included a virtual paint day with an art teacher, a Power of Youth presentation from MADD, and a guest speaker gave a story of recovery from substance abuse. 17 youth completed the program by attending every day and upon completion they all received an AZYP backpack and a Walmart Gift card. Our Youth Educators are continuing to develop new ways of doing our programming virtually. We currently have Loving My Future, Wyman TOP Club, and a virtual version of our Stronger Families Project is coming soon!

As the school year begins remotely this August, parents/caregivers are looking back at the spring and wondering how they are going to fulfil their responsibilities and also act as their child’s remote teacher. Experts around the globe are calling out the risks of this parental stress on children, and at Arizona Youth Partnership that social isolation, family and parental stress cause risk factors that can have poor outcomes on children. We work to prevent risk factors by building protective factors. Here are five ways you can build protective factors in your family during these tough times: Acknowledge your stress: Identify and accept that this is a stressful time and a stressful time for your children. Help them acknowledge it and have open, honest conversations about it. Set a new routine: This pandemic has blown up most of our daily routines. Set up new ones and try to stick to them so that your kids know what to expect every day. Make a schedule for school, and breaks. Strengthen your family relationships: Take time to have a family dinner or go for a walk or bike ride. Talk about your day and what’s going on. You can even sign up for a virtual family strengthening program that provides fun, facilitator guided family activities through Zoom and a gift card to order in dinner. Click here to see when the next session begins Strengthen relationships with others in YOUR community: Don’t do it alone. Reach out, text a friend, Facetime or call. Just because we’re all social distancing, doesn’t mean we have to live in isolation! An unexpected call or text might even be just what someone else needs. Reach out for support: there are many organizations providing a variety of services to address housing, economic support, nutrition, substance abuse, and healthcare. We’ll get through this taking it one day at a time. Contact us at Arizona Youth Partnership to find out ways can support your family or community. Locate the office nearest you here

AZYP is proud to continue providing Mental Health Awareness Training throughout Pima County with a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). This funding allows us to provide Youth Mental Health First Aid training – at no charge – to agencies, faith communities, parent and community groups anywhere in the county. Over 400 participants from Ajo to Catalina and Sahuarita to the Tohono O’Odham Nation have been certified at Youth Mental Health First-Aiders! Youth Mental Health First Aid teaches adults in direct contact with youth (particularly adolescents) to recognize the signs and symptoms of the most common mental challenges, illness and crisis situations. Participants are provided with a 5-step model to assess and assist the youth to refer them to the proper services. We are thrilled to announce a virtual delivery of this program which includes a 2 hour self-paced component and a 5 hour live virtual presentation. Additionally, AZYP is partnering with Interfaith Community Services (ICS) whose staff is providing Mental Health First Aid for Adults. This training uses the same model as YMHFA, but applies it to adults with mental health issues. It is also available virtually.

January 11 is Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Thanks to the AZYP team members coming together dressed in Blue to support the work of the Mohave County Domestic Violence/Human Trafficking Coalition. Check out their Facebook HERE! If you are aware of someone that is a victim of Human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

Nationally, 1 in 10 teens will experience dating violence. AZYP is working to bring awareness to this issue by hosting events and sharing resources throughout the month of February. Click on the calendar below to download your own calendar of events!