Introducing our new look!

Posted on by Ardsley SAYF Coalition

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The SAYF Coalition is excited to share our new logo! The Supporting Ardsley’s Youth & Families (SAYF) Coalition is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the youth in Ardsley. Our vision is to create a community where our children have the tools and the confidence needed to make healthy, substance-free decisions for themselves. Our new logo uses the sun as a background, representing a healthy future full of hope, complemented by the silhouette of people, representing support from loved ones and the amazing Ardsley community, while incorporating shades of color associated with the Village of Ardsley.

Our ongoing commitment to helping the adolescents in our community to make healthy choices is evident in the 5K Fun Run & Walk, holiday decorating activities, youth dances and sponsorships like the upcoming Yankees vs. Mets baseball game that we have organized. Our involvement in school and community activities has given us the opportunity to educate our students with prevention information through the use of a variety of guest speakers, distortion goggles that simulate alcohol and marijuana impairment effects on perception at Ardsley Day, the school Wellness Fairs and in the HS Wellness Center during lunch periods. We focus on the dangers of marijuana, on 4/20, a date traditionally recognized for celebrating marijuana use; and through our sponsorship of students who attend the Youth 2 Youth Conference each summer to learn about how to become leaders who promote healthy lifestyle choices to their peers. During the past few years, we have supervised two different teams of students who developed and created Public Service Announcement with prevention messages that we contracted to have shown at our local movie theaters. In recognition of the difficulties that are more common during certain holidays and specific times of the year, we include prevention awareness messages through the local pizzerias, liquor stores, bus kiosks and dry cleaners. We have also had a MedReturn box installed in the Ardsley Police Station, to allow for 24/7 anonymous disposal of unwanted and unused medications. We continue to support ASVAC and the Ardsley Police by arranging to have their members trained and certified in the use of Naloxone, an opioid reversal lifesaving medication. We continue our support of the guidance counselors of the middle and high schools by sending them to annual trainings on different topics related to youth mental health and substance prevention. We do this and so much more!

If you agree with our initiatives and are interested in learning more about the SAYF Coalition, we are always looking for new members; or if you would like to attend one of our meetings, please contact us at ardsleycoalition@gmail.com.

Opioid Crisis Fast Facts – What You Need to Know

Posted on by Ardsley SAYF Coalition

Opioid Crisis Fast Facts (courtesy of CADCA)

The United States is in the midst of an opioid crisis, the impact surpassing annual car crashes, and the AIDs epidemic in the 1990s. Over two million people in the U.S. have become dependent on or abused prescription pain pills and/or an illicit drug.

At the onset, many users become addicted after a legitimate injury or surgery requires them to take prescription painkillers. Legal painkillers like morphine, oxycodone, or hydrocodone are prescribed by doctors for acute or chronic pain.

However, drug overdoses are on the rise, with 52,000 overdose deaths in 2015. In the same year, the International Narcotics Control Board reported that Americans represented about 99.7 percent of the world’s hydrocodone consumption.

Once people become dependent – needing to take increasingly larger doses of the medication for the same affect – then they are addicted and oftentimes escalate to illicit drugs, such as fentanyl or heroin. People who are dependent on opioids may experience withdrawal symptoms, such as:

  • Runny nose
  • Sweating
  • Anxiety or irritability
  • Muscle pain
  • Cramping
  • V omiting
  • Increased heart rate and blood pressure
  • Shakiness
  • Chills
  • Dilated pupils

    According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), about 11.5 million Americans aged 12 and older misused prescription pain medicine in 2016. In the same year, approximately 948,000 of the US population aged 12 and older used heroin. People who become dependent on pain pills may escalate to heroin, as it’s cheaper than heroin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that three out of four new heroin users started out using prescription drugs.

    In 2017, President Trump issued an executive order, creating the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. The purpose of the Commission is to “study ways to combat and treat the scourge of drug abuse, addiction and the opioid crisis, which is responsible for more than 50,000 deaths in 2015 and has caused families and communities across America to endure significant pain and suffering.”

The Commission’s latest draft report recommends steps such as:

  • Establishing and funding a federal incentive to enhance access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MA T)
  • Providing model legislation for states to allow naloxone dispensing via standing orders
  • Providing federal funding and technical support to states to enhance interstate data sharing among state-based prescription drug monitoring programs to better track patient-specific prescription data

     

     

    See More about the Opioid Crisis:

Resource Listing for Support During the Holiday Season

Posted on by Ardsley SAYF Coalition

The holiday season, for most people, is a happy time of year spent with family and loved ones, but we can’t forget about those who are not so happy. May it be because of death or illness in the family, physical or mental, or for many other reasons. With that in mind the Ardsley SAYF Coalition has compiled a resource list of where you can turn to for help in our community. We hope you find this resource to be a helpful one and we wish you and your family a happy and SAYF holiday season.