Catalyst

Informed Families Catalyst

Pandemic Putting More Children at Risk

Posted by Informed Families on February 5, 2021 at 7:00 AM

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of children visiting emergency departments nationwide for mental health-related issues increased beginning in April and remained high through October.

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Topics: Covid-19

Helping Kids Cope with COVID-19

Posted by Informed Families on January 8, 2021 at 8:00 AM

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, health officials have noted an alarming increase in the use of drugs and alcohol, suicides, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.

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Topics: communication, children, Covid-19, routines

President's Message - October 2020

Posted by Peggy B. Sapp, President & CEO on October 1, 2020 at 8:00 AM

Help Us Lead the Red Ribbon Week Herd   

Red Ribbon Week helps to create Herd Immunity. Red Ribbon is about creating herd or community immunity to the alcohol and drug problems America is facing.

Herd or Community Immunity is where a large part of the population are immune to a specific disease.

While currently the public is hearing about and focusing on Covid-19, Herd immunity applies equally to alcohol and drug use.

In all populations across the world about 10 % of people have a predisposition to alcohol and drug addiction. PREDISPOSITION DOES NOT MEAN PREDETERMINED!!! There are PROTECTIVE FACTORS that mediate the disease - the biggest are the communities’ beliefs, their messaging and role modeling about alcohol and drugs use and misuse.

 

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Topics: President's Message, red ribbon, red ribbon week, drug use, alcohol use, Covid-19

President's Message - September 2020

Posted by Peggy B. Sapp, President & CEO on September 1, 2020 at 8:00 AM

Back to School During the Covid-19 Pandemic  

“It is the best of times, it is the worst of times” is surely a fitting description for today. During times of uncertainty, basic routines help us and our children feel more secure; thus, happier and healthier.

If your children are attending classes are remotely or at school some of the basics still apply:

  • Have a healthy breakfast
  • Get dressed for school
  •  Have a specific place for children to do their online work or their homework
  •  Ask about their assignments and review their work and homework
  • When going to school, wear a mask

Telling your children you love them and that things will be okay are two messages you need to repeat often. Sometimes this is hard!   If you are fearful about now and the future, practice Mindfulness with your children. It will help everyone. Mindfulness keeps our minds from running away to negative thoughts and worse case scenarios. Even three deep breaths will slow the freight train in the brain.

 

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Topics: President's Message, parenting, family bonding, back to school, Covid-19

Worried About School in the Fall? Family Table Time Can Help

Posted by Informed Families on July 22, 2020 at 9:00 AM

Informed Families/Florida Family Partnership is teaming up with Family Table Time to help families bond, communicate better and deal with difficult scenarios.

Back to school time is a stressful time for many families. With schools reopening for the first time since March or continuing remote learning, many families are more anxious than usual. Family Table Time’s unique, dinner table conversation starter toolkit can help families better navigate this stressful time together. Conversation starters for the month of August include Back to School and Fears & Anxiety.

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Topics: positive parenting, communication, family bonding, Covid-19, Family Table Time

Family Table Time gift to Essential Workers

Posted by Informed Families on July 9, 2020 at 1:18 PM

Americans continue to celebrate essential workers keeping the country going during the coronavirus pandemic. McDonald's provided essential workers with free 'Thank You Meals'. Starbucks offered all front-line responders a free tall brewed coffee.Give Essential, a new nonprofit that boxes up people's extra household items to donate to those on the front line, was recently profiled on ABC News (see the coverage here). We are continuing to demonstrate our capacity to come together and support others during these unprecedented times.

Informed Families, the National Family Partnership and Family Table Time are also saying thanks and giving it up for front-line workers. While families are away from the office and school, these heroes put their health on the line to keep us safe, happy and healthy.  When you buy a six-month subscription to Family Table Time, the family of an Essential Worker will receive a six-month subscription for free. You can designate the family to receive this gift or select an option to send  it to an essential worker who needs it.

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Topics: positive parenting, communication, family bonding, Covid-19, Family Table Time

President's Message - June 2020

Posted by Peggy B. Sapp, President & CEO on June 1, 2020 at 5:00 PM

Fathering Lasts a Lifetime and Beyond

We are celebrating dads this month - Father's Day is June 21st. Two months in lockdown because of COVID-19 has really shifted the perspective of some fathers. Parenting is a hard job, and we always hope for the best.After raising our two daughters, my late husband Neil and I helped raise our seven grandchildren. It’s not easy being a dad. But it is the most important thing you can do. I think Neil said it best in the article below.

Peggy 

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Topics: President's Message, family bonding, children, Peggy Sapp, grandparents, grandchildren, Covid-19

Family Day is Every Day During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted by Informed Families on April 10, 2020 at 8:30 AM

With parents working remotely, kids learning virtually and extracurricular activities outside the home postponed, Family Day is every day during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most families have not had this much time together uninterrupted in some time. 

Some families are using this time to reconnect. We love to see the cool things you have been doing - picnics in the backyard, themed dinners, bake-a-thons, game night, movie night and more. Use the #FLFamilyDays hashtag in your social media posts so we can continue to promote strengthening family relationships.

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Topics: parenting, tips, positive parenting, advice, children, teens, drug use, parents, alcohol use, healthy kids, Covid-19

We Want to Help Our Teachers: Lesson Plan and Online Curriculum Ready for Your Students

Posted by Informed Families on April 1, 2020 at 8:30 AM

So many amazing teachers serve as Informed Families Ambassadors. They work hard to deliver our fun and effective universal prevention campaigns, which help kids grow up safe, healthy and drug free. We thank you for what you do as a professional and the service you provide.

We know you have never experienced anything like what we are currently experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic. For many teachers, transitioning from the classroom to online teaching has not been easy.
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Topics: education, prevention, lesson plan template, ambassador, Covid-19, lesson plan, teachers, curriculum

President's Message - April 2020

Posted by Peggy B. Sapp, President & CEO on April 1, 2020 at 8:00 AM

Adapting to Change…who likes it? The Answer…no one!

Adapting to the shelter-in-place order forced on us during the COVID-19 crisis is showing some early adapters: the winners are colleges and schools making the switch from sitting in a classroom to having the classroom on your laptop. Hats off to you!

One of my college-age granddaughters sent me a text yesterday, but when I called her back (generational thing) she replied back via text: I’m in class can’t talk right now.

Many schools are requiring the students to show up for their online classes in their school uniforms or in the school’s dress code. Schools are getting on with business, the content is the same, but the delivery is different.

Informed Families was scheduled to be closed for Spring Break this past week, but we canceled it. Why? So we could get our Lock Your Meds curriculum online and ready to use when Miami-Dade County public schools reopened on March 30. Schools, teachers, parents and students rely on Informed Families to provide them the latest information, tips, and resources to keep kids safe, healthy & drug free.

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Topics: President's Message, education, Webinars, prescription drug abuse, lock your meds, teacher tools, lesson plan template, Peggy Sapp, social media, Covid-19

About Us

We teach people how to say no to drugs and how to make healthy choices. To reduce the demand for drugs, Informed Families has focused its efforts on educating and mobilizing the community, parents and young people in order to change attitudes. In this way we counteract the pressures in society that condone and promote drug and alcohol use and abuse. The organization educates thousands of families annually about how to stay drug and alcohol free through networking and a variety of programs and services .

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