April 19
Introduction to Motivational Interviewing (MI) Training*
April 23-26
Substance Abuse Prevention Skills Training (SAPST)
May 10
Allowable Advocacy: Educating and Advocating Webinar
May 16
Financial Planning for Problem Gambling Training**
Visit the Training Portal for descriptions
and to register.
While youâre there, take one of our FREE courses. CEUs available.
* Payment required for this training.
** Register at www.ipgap.indiana.edu/training.
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CHIRP, Inc. is an organization in Columbus, Indiana that is "dedicated to assisting homeless individuals and families in their transition to independence, self-sufficiency, and well-being." CHIRP stands for the Columbus Homeless Independence and Resiliency Program, and they recognize that individuals and families can experience homelessness for a large number of reasons. This organization provides items for those in need, provide community events, host collections, assist those experiencing homelessness, and increase awareness on this important issue.
To learn more about CHIRP, Inc. or to become a volunteer, please visit www.chirpindiana.org.
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Social media is used for everything these days, and it is likely that your organization has an account on at least one of the following: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram. However, using social media for an organization is not as simple as it may be when using a personal account. Here are five tips to ensure your social media content is having the greatest effect on your community.
Use Visuals. No one wants to read a wall of text on Facebook or LinkedIn, and the character limit on Twitter makes this nearly impossible. Instagramâs primary form of communication is photos, so this is especially easy there. Visuals, including photos of events, flyers or invitations, and photos of things going on in the community provide an insight into your organization without resorting to writing a report.
Consider Your Demographics. Social media users differ based on which platform you choose. While most people use Facebook (from 88% of 18-29 year olds to 62% of those 65+), Twitter and Instagram are reserved more for younger crowds (only 8% of those 65+ use Instagram, and 10% use Twitter). Make sure posts are tailored to the audience you are reaching on each platform; using Millennial slang on a Facebook post does not make sense, and you would not promote a wellness education program for seniors on Instagram.
Take Advantage of the Events Feature. The Facebook and LinkedIn event creators are wonderful tools for spreading the word about events to a large audience. While your followers will be able to see events, they can also share them and pass them along to their networks, increasing the number of people who may be interested in attending. Create events several weeks before they take place to get the word out as soon as possible.
Create a Social Media Team. Responsiveness is incredibly important when managing an organizationâs social media page. Content should be posted at least every few days, and inboxes/messaging centers should be monitored for questions or comments. By having a social media team, more than one person can be put in charge of this, and the extra work that goes into social media can be spread among multiple people.
Share at the Right Time of Day. While it may seem like posts can be shared any time during the day and people will see them, that is not necessarily the case. In order to make the greatest impact and reach the most people, posts should be shared when people are active and online. Looking to your own Facebook Insights and how many people react to posts and different times of the day can give you a good understanding of the best times to post.
Social media is a wonderful tool for interaction and spreading the word about your organization. With these tips, you can be sure you are making the greatest impact and promoting positive change in your community.
More Details Resource
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This month we are featuring Dr. Courtney Olcott as our Staff Spotlight. Courtney is a Community Prevention Specialist and Research Associate at the IPRC. Courtneyâs proudest work accomplishment is making it to meetings on time (she is very busy!). Her best work tip is to try to get along with everyone in the office, and her motto in life is to be kind and understanding.
Outside of the office, Courtney enjoys hiking and doing crossword puzzles. A random fact about Courtney is she hates the word âmilk,â so try not to say it around her! Courtney considers the greatest invention of all time to be indoor plumbing. She says, âI can live without a lot of things, but indoor plumbing is pretty great.â
âMama"
âSadie (Courtney's daughter)
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The 28th Annual Art & Science Health Promotion Conference occurred on March 28 - 30, 2018 in San Diego, California. Jasynda Radanovich and Heather Dolne of the IPRC were in attendance and appreciated the overall theme of the conference: Best Science + Expert Implementation = Best Outcomes. This conference spoke to both of them because of the ability to incorporate health topics in a variety of ways.
Jasynda commented that presenters and attendees imparted a sense of passion for public health, and she left invigorated! Similarly, Heather identified the flow of the conference as being helpful to get out of the typical workday schedule and connect with topics that were of value to her.
The most impactful session that Jasynda attended was Innovation, The Art of Being Wrong by Stefana Saxton. Jasynda mentioned that "Stefana shared that failure is a necessary consequence of doing something new. Some take away points from her presentation were 'create-fail-learn-create new' and 'be uncomfortable.' It was a great reminder that no one is perfect, and some of the biggest successes in life occur after a person fails at something, but learns from it and tries again. Iâve worked at the IPRC for 10 years, and Iâve had many opportunities and challenges along the way; be uncomfortable is a good theme for me as I attempt new endeavors in workforce development. Stefana told us that the number of successes equal the number of times of being uncomfortable. A final theme from this presentation, and others at the conference, wa s the concept of a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. A fixed mindset avoids challenges, while a growth mindset embraces them. In terms of obstacles, a fixed mindset gives up early, while a growth mindset persists in the face of setbacks. Overall, individuals with a fixed mindset may plateau early and not reach full potential. Conversely, people with growth mindsets reach higher levels of achievement and have a greater sense of free will. My goal after learning more about this notion is to think about my reaction to things in life and ask myself whether Iâm taking a fixed or growth mindset in my approach."
While Heather thought almost every session that she attended was beneficial, she especially found the 12 Powerful Strategies to See Success with Positive Psychology by MJ Shaar as most insightful and applicable to her work and personal life. One important thing from this presentation was how to respond to situations, especially those of good news. Responding to negative or sad news is often discussed; however, the reaction someone has to good news can be very powerful as well. MJ shared how being active and constructive in a response to good news can assist with the sharer feeling more connected and opening up more. This would resemble the individual asking specific questions about the good news, rather than simply saying "good job" and leaving it at that. Heather is trying to implement this more in her life, can see a benefit when she implements it, and comments that "It's a really good life skill to have and opens up for more honest connection and appreciation between people."
For more information on the Art & Science of Health Promotion Conference, please visit https://www.healthpromotionconference.com/.
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The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation strives to advance the vitality of Indianapolis and the well-being of its people by addressing the cityâs most significant challenges and opportunities. Recently, the Foundation launched a $12 million grant initiative to prevent substance use by providing funding and expert assistance to public and private schools in Marion County. The Prevention Matters initiative provides schools with the opportunity to plan and then implement prevention programs in schools that address substance use, as well as to improve other outcomes, such as academic achievement, attendance, and behavior issues.
The Indiana Prevention Resource Center was selected as one of the technical assistance providers for the planning phase of this initiative. In doing so, we will guide each school through the Strategic Prevention Framework to identify which evidence-based program aligns with their data and problem behaviors. By going through a thorough planning process, each school can be assured that they selected the best program for the competitive implementation grant proposal to help their students.
Thank you to the Fairbanks Foundation for recognizing the need for school-based prevention and providing the funding for Marion County schools to thoroughly plan and implement effective programs!
To learn more about the Fairbanks Foundation, please visit https://www.rmff.org/.
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Mental Health Month
May is Mental Health Month!
Mental Health America will celebrate their 69 th Mental Health Month this May. Mental Health Month is dedicated to raising awareness about mental health through media campaigns, events at the local level, and mental health screening days. The theme for Mental Health Month in 2018 is, âWhole Body Mental Health.â This theme focuses on the recent connections that have been discovered between physical health and mental health, specifically the roles of gut bacteria, inflammation, physical activity, and nutrition on mental health and well-being.
For more information on Mental Health Month and how you can host events in your community, please visit http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/may. A toolkit is available with media materials, social media materials, fact sheets, and other handouts for organizations to utilize.
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Risk and Protective Factors
A total of 8,059 students 18-25 years
of age from 23 Indiana colleges participated in the Indiana College Substance Use Survey conducted in Spring 2021.
