Umatter for Youth and Young Adults (Umatter YYA) is a youth leadership and engagement initiative. The goal is to promote mental health wellness: healthy coping mechanisms among youth and young adults, and the ability to recognize when a peer needs help and how to provide it. The aim is to foster healthy community cultures for [...]
Good health requires a daily commitment! In that spirit, this week, National Public Health Week - April 2-6, 2018 - is a chance to think about how we can help ourselves, families and communities become healthier. “National Public Health Week is a chance for us to highlight all the services available to citizens to improve [...]
The impact of legalization of marijuana is far more involved than we may anticipate, including the potential for long-term debilitating effects on personal health, and an impact on educational and health care systems. JoEllen Tarallo, Ed.D., MCHES, FASHA, Director, CHL Should we be concerned about increased use of marijuana, now commonly referred to as cannabis, [...]
“Addressing the health and well-being of America’s students is paramount to comprehensive education reform and a proven strategy for school turnaround.” American School Health Association Anyone who believes that healthier students are better learners wants to pay attention now to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the opportunities it provides. ESSA is the education [...]
September was Suicide Prevention Month, which brought awareness to the fact that suicide is a preventable public health issue. Two events in fall 2016 brought this awareness one step further, helping Vermonters take those preventative steps. Umatter, the statewide suicide prevention campaign, emphasizes that “you matter because you may be able to help someone,” and [...]
Vermont’s suicide rate is higher than the national average by about 30 percent. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2014 Vermont’s rate was 19 people per 100,000,compared to 13 per 100,000 nationally. Additionally, 48 percent of Vermont suicides involved guns. Since last year, firearms groups and suicide prevention advocates have been working together [...]
Zero Suicide is a commitment to suicide prevention in health care systems and is also a specific set of strategies. Listen to our Executive Director, Dr. JoEllen Tarallo - along with Dr. Stephen Broer, Director of Behavioral Health Services at Northwestern Counseling & Support Services - discuss suicide prevention strategies in this live interview with [...]
Three Vermont locations will host Out of the Darkness Walks in the months of September and October, to raise awareness and funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Individuals are invited to walk or to donate to a walker. AFSP has set a goal to reduce the annual suicide rate 20% by 2025, [...]
A large study published this year found significant results related to heavy alcohol use and male suicide risk. Among men, those who died by suicide experienced an 8% increase in heavy alcohol use at the onset of the recent recession than did men in a non-suicide comparison group, whose alcohol use decreased by 2%. September [...]
Last night I read the heartbreaking Facebook entry of a Vermont mother who lost her daughter to suicide five years ago. Her daughter would have been 21 today. She implored anyone suffering from suicidal thoughts to reach out and get help. What happens when someone asks for help? If you ask people what you should [...]
