Tag Archive for: Davi Stein-Kiley

* Suicide Prevention Forums Happening in April

During this month a number of community forums will be held in Evansville to help residents discuss suicide prevention and how to best respond to needs. Mayor Lloyd Winnecke announced these forums will be sponsored by Old National Bank and the Southwestern Indiana Suicide Prevention Coalition.

During the 2016 year there were 40 suicides reported in Vanderburgh County. To date in Vanderburgh County in 2017 there have been 11 suicidal deaths.

These untimely deaths leave behind many caring friends and family who long to make sense of the tragedy.  What happened?  What did we miss?  Were there some important signs?  What do we do next?

Youth First is one of many organizations dedicated to preventing suicide in our community.  During 2016-2017, we presented suicide prevention training to more than 800 students in Vanderburgh County in schools where Youth First is represented.  These presentations help students recognize signs and symptoms of suicidal thinking and to get help.  The presentations also promote good coping strategies.

There are a number of protective factors families can address to better understand saving lives:

If you believe your loved one is suffering from depression and possible suicidal ideation- don’t wait.  Seek assistance from a physician and a therapist or psychologist.

Spend time together- isolation and disconnection are key risk factors for suicidal death.  Connections make a huge impact.  If you know someone who is lonely make an effort to reach out.

Prior experience with suicide and prior attempts make a person more vulnerable.  Remove means for self-harm from the home for safety.

Help your loved one connect with meaningful activities and meaningful people.  Doing things to assist others is another protective factor, and we are ripe for community involvement in Evansville!

Use the best combination of healthy habits.  This includes proper nutrition, exercise and getting rest.  These are the foundations for wellness and support us when the stress load is higher.

Pay attention to the stress load of family members and look for ways to de-stress together.  Watching or reading comedy can help in the same way that avoiding dark and haunting material can.

Everyone is unique and there are no “pat” answers; be sure to seek assistance for better understanding for yourself and your loved ones.

If you are interested in learning more, take part in one of the following community forums:

April 10, 2017 – Welborn Conference Room, 412 Mulberry St.
April 11, 2017 – Oaklyn Library
April 17, 2017 – Central Library
April 18, 2017 – Deaconess Gateway Hospital Conference Rooms ABC

All forums will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. and a light snack will be provided.

If you cannot attend one of the forums, but you would like to host one for your group or club, please contact Janie Chappell at Deaconess Cross Pointe and the Southwestern Suicide Prevention Coalition at 812-476-7200 or contact us at Youth First at 812-421-8336.

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Encourage Youth to Participate in IPRC Survey – A Resource for Our Community

By Davi Stein-Kiley, Courier & Press, Jan. 31, 2017 –

The domains of influence on our youth are many – school, community, friends, family, peers, and of course individual perspectives, differences and choice.

Perhaps you are already aware that in the 2014 Indiana Youth Survey conducted by the Indiana Prevention Resource Center, Southwestern Indiana students reported the following:

  • 25.8% of 12th graders reported binge drinking within the last month
  • 11.3% of 10th graders reported smoking cigarettes within the last month
  • 5.8% of 12th graders reported using prescription drugs within the last month
  • 21.5% of 8th graders reported feeling sad or hopeless within the last year
  • 15.4% of 8th graders reported considering suicide within the last year
  • 11.4% of 8th graders reported that had planned suicide within the last year

To view complete results go to youthfirstinc.org.

Why are these results so important to track?

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs are serious threats to the health, safety, and futures of our youth, families, and communities. Alcohol and other drug use are also the leading causes of crime among youth and major risk factors for teenage suicide and teenage pregnancy.

Study after study shows alcohol and other drug use interferes with school and life success. Students who are regular users are less likely to do well in school and less likely to graduate.

Youth who start using alcohol before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol dependency problems as adults than someone who begins drinking at the legal age of 21. Studies also show alcohol and other drug abuse is harmful to brain development in teens. The brain is not fully developed until age 24, so preventing, reducing, and delaying drug use is essential in helping our young people reach their full potential.

The Indiana Prevention Resource Center (IPRC) was established in 1987 to help Indiana based alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) prevention providers enhance services in their respective communities.

A visit to the IPRC website http://www.drugs.indiana.edu/ helps Hoosiers recognize the amount of data that is collected to assist professionals in examining the course of potentially addictive behaviours and how they impact health outcomes in Indiana. There are also survey questions about mental health.

IPRC developed the Youth Survey in 1991, and schools have the opportunity to use the survey to gain greater detail about the lives, beliefs and perceptions of our young people. Participating in the survey provides everyone with working knowledge of risk factors that influence the use of drugs and alcohol as well as mental health concerns.

Among the risk factors measured are the perception of drug availability, community norms/favourable attitudes toward drug use, lack of commitment to school, rebelliousness, peer and problem behaviour, early initiation into problem behaviours, family management and conflict, friends who engage in problem behaviours, and school rewards for prosocial involvement.

According to the U.S. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (2013) it is important to look for clusters of risk and protective factors that have a cumulative effect on the overall outcomes for a community and for our state.

Youth First has supported looking at the data in Southwestern Indiana to gain perspective on our regional needs for service and intervention.  Participation in the survey by 8th, 10th and 12th graders helps everyone have a better sense of how to help young people secure a healthier future.

Knowing the risk factors is also a way of understanding our weaknesses and building on strengths. We can assess and measure, inform and educate, plan, monitor and evaluate our health risks.

The survey will occur again this spring in area schools. Please encourage your teen to take part, and watch for Youth First’s report of outcomes that will help guide our work in assisting youth and families in our community.

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Family Dinner Time is Important

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By Davi Stein-Kiley, Courier & Press, Sept. 27, 2016 –

The beginning of the new school years marks the opportunity to set new goals for your family.

As a counselor, I have often encouraged parents to assess the needs of each young person in the family and help create environments and experiences that will help that child grow throughout that year. I’ve also encouraged parents to take stock of each season and look for new ideas that will build family together time, supporting family harmony.

There is value in reflecting and planning. Unfortunately, these steps often get overtaken by our hijacked family schedules due to heavy involvement in activities. I would encourage you to consider family experiences with fresh eyes.

If there was just one thing you could do to help your kids, would you do it? Truthfully, there is one important lifestyle habit that could be integrated every day to the benefit of everyone in the family, and it is easily within our grasp.

The answer is simple: Have family dinner time at least five times a week. Safeguard the time. Maintain it as a divine appointment.

During the last 22 years, thousands of American teens have been surveyed through the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia). The results are very compelling and readily overlooked by our manic interest in helping kids get ahead in whatever endeavor they undertake.

But consider these outcomes:Teens who have dinner three times a week or less with their families as compared with peers who have dinner five times or more with their families are:

  • Nearly three times likelier to say it is OK for a teen their age to use marijuana.
  • 3.5 times likelier to say it’s OK for teens their age to get drunk.

Favorable attitudes toward drug and alcohol use are a key risk factor for teens. Family meal time diminishes the risk greatly.

CASA Columbia reports that teens that have family dinners have stronger relationships with their parents and these relationships lead to greater trust. Put simply, teens that have high-quality relationships with mom and dad are less likely to use drugs, drink or smoke.

But what about mental health concerns? The Journal of the American Medical Association reports that young people who engage in family meals have better socialization, and meal time enhances their mental health. As young people experience better relationships, their stress is diminished.

Another study in JAMA reported that students who have regular family mealtimes bounce back better from the impact of cyberbullying.

Young children also build vocabulary and ability to discuss topics when the family meal is present.  Anne Fishel, the co-founder of the Family Dinner Project at Harvard, notes that young children learn as many as 1000 uncommon words at meal time compared to 143 from parents reading story books aloud.

The Journal of Marriage and Family additionally reports that children who spend more time in family meals (and getting adequate sleep) have better results academically.

Family mealtimes have vast importance in the life of our kids. Get started today with some food, fun and conversations that will have lasting impact.

Sept. 26 is National Eat Dinner with your Family Day, and Youth First, Inc. is proud to celebrate this event with our community.

For more information about family dinners see thefamilydinnerproject.org.

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