The workshop will focus on understanding how trauma affects children. Attendees will improve their ability to communicate with children who have experienced trauma, learn ways to reduce the stress of parenting a traumatized child, and learn skills and techniques to influence children’s behavior and attitudes.

One of the organizers, Kelly Sauter, BSW, Northern Lakes CMH Children’s Case Manager, explained that, “This training stems from a statewide effort to raise the standard of care and increase access to services for traumatized children and their families. Our hope is to create a community of trauma informed foster parents who can serve as a resource to individuals interacting with traumatized youth.”

Another organizer, Donna Van Brocklin, Services Specialist and Licensing Consultant for the Crawford County Department of Human Services, said, “We find that all children who come into the foster care system have experienced some type of trauma, whether it is from the neglect and/or abuse they have experienced or just from being removed from their family and home. It is important for foster parents to have the knowledge and skills to be able to help these children while they are placed in their home. At this time, Crawford County has 23 foster homes that do an excellent job helping foster children deal with the emotions and feelings they are experiencing and sometimes the behaviors that come along with these. This training will help foster parents and relatives that are helping out as caregivers to add more skills to their bag of tools.”

This project is funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the US Department of Health and Human Services.

For additional information call Kelly Sauter at Northern Lakes Community Mental Health at (989) 344-3009 or Donna Van Brocklin at Crawford County DHS at (989) 344-5126.

In Houghton Lake and Grayling, there will be coloring contests and essay contests, with gift card prizes donated by staff. In addition, there will be healthy snacks and water in the lobby, also donated by staff, as giveaways.

In Cadillac, there will also be goodies in the lobby all week, including balloons, stickers, coloring books, pencils, snacks, and children’s activity and coloring sheets.

Staff will also be giving away green ribbons (with flyers explaining the significance of the color green – new life, new growth, new beginnings), positive buttons, and temporary tattoos.

Tomorrow, the Cadillac Wexford Public Library will be having a storytime on “feelings“ for toddlers aged 3 to 5 from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

This event has only been possible because of the work and support of several different businesses and organizations in our community in an effort to try to assist residents in knowing the services available in our community and to strengthen our physical, mental and financial health.

Some of the highlights include a FREE spaghetti lunch (from 11:00 to 1:00), Child Car Seat safety inspections, the Yellow Jug Program for safe disposal of unused/unwanted prescription medications, and a mercury thermometer exchange for a new digital one.

Kids will enjoy an “up close and personal” view of several different emergency and rescue vehicles to include fire trucks, ambulances, a rollover simulator and the Michigan State Police Bomb Squad truck and equipment.

Many different organizations will also be there with information about services, including Northern Lakes Community Mental Health!

At the same time, there will be a Household Hazardous Waste collection by the Crawford County Environmental Department in the Courthouse parking lot, located at 200 Michigan Avenue. Details are provided in this Household Hazardous Waste Collection Flyer.

The Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health declares the first week in May as National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week. The theme for the week of May 3-7, 2010 is “Promoting Positive Mental Health from Birth to Adulthood.”

To combat stigma, advocates and community members may be seen wearing green ribbons to signify new growth, new life and new beginnings.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders among children. With suicide being the third leading cause of death for youth aged 15-24, it is imperative that children are taught ways to stay mentally healthy as well as being treated for possible mental health concerns.

Along with early intervention, developing coping strategies to help children and teens combat daily stressors is essential to maintaining positive mental health. The following suggestions are ways in which we can take control of stress to develop healthy strategies for staying healthy.

Relax: Relaxation is important. It’s easy to forget to take time for ourselves when things get stressful, but finding healthy activities can help you relax plus they are often easy to do and don’t cost a thing. Put time aside to do some of these activities with your children and see which ones work best for you: go for a walk and take time to point out things around you, go fishing, take a bike ride, play a favorite game or sport, do a puzzle, read books, listen to music they like, paint, color or draw, sit quietly and tell each other about what happened that day.

Help others: Having opportunities for generosity helps so that we don’t focus exclusively on our own problems. Youth can get involved in the community through volunteering at an organization or by helping neighbors, family members or school mates. There are usually no financial benefits to volunteering but often times it is a positive meaningful experience in other ways such as: learning or developing a new skill, providing a sense of achievement, locating possible new interests or hobbies, meeting new people, and possibly boosting future career options.

Positive Peer Support: Teach your child how to form positive relationships by helping them recognize qualities to look for in a good friend. According to SAMHSA, children who feel isolated and want to be accepted are often more prone to succumb to peer pressures by using tobacco, alcohol or illegal drugs. Visit www.family.samhsa.gov/teach/ to find more information on how to help your child choose their friends wisely.

These are just a few ways in which we can help our children develop positive mental health and coping strategies they can take with them from adolescence to adulthood. Explore how your family can build healthy activities into your daily routine and wear a green ribbon this month to remind you of the importance of children’s mental health.

There’s a new playgroup on Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. starting on October 14, sponsored by the C.O.O.R. Intermediate School District Great Start program, one of our community partners.

It is free for all Roscommon County families with children age birth to 5 years old and will be held at the CRAF Center. Contact Playgroup Facilitator Heidi LaPrad at 989-275-9537 with any questions.