Prevention Council Participated in Oct. 25 Suicide Prevention Walk
The Litchfield Prevention Council participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Litchfield County Out of the Darkness Community Walk, held Oct. 25 at The White Memorial Conservation Center.
“A huge thank you to you and the Litchfield Prevention Council for both [having a table] at the 3rd Annual AFSP OOTD walk … and for the most generous donation. You have supported us for the past three years and we really appreciate it,” Janet Dember, Team Captain for the local walk, wrote in an email to Prevention Council Chair Gary Waugh.
Janet said there were more than 150 registered walkers and participants raised just shy of $45,000.
The Litchfield County walk is among many taking place around the country, with hundreds of thousands of people walking in the Out of the Darkness Community Walks to prevent suicide and support AFSP’s mission to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
Learn more about the AFSP walks: afsp.org/walks
Meet Dr. Bob & Gizmo, They’re Scarecrows on a Mission
Middle School Cell Phone & Social Media Safety Presentations
Plumb Hill Middle School in the Region 20 school district (Litchfield, Warren, Morris & Goshen) was pleased to host Officer Rich Marsh in mid-October for a series of educational presentations on cell phone and social media safety, made possible through the generous support of the Litchfield Prevention Council.
Officer Marsh provided an evening presentation for parents and guardians, focusing on proactive approaches to digital safety. Topics included:
- How to implement and monitor cell phone safety protections and privacy settings;
- Guidance for navigating popular apps safely;
- Recognizing potential dangers of social media use; and
- Strategies for open communication between parents and children to encourage responsible technology habits.
In addition to the parent session, Officer Marsh met individually with each grade level of students during the school day. These student-focused sessions emphasized:
- Safe and appropriate use of phones and digital platforms;
- Understanding the permanence of online actions;
- Recognizing risks such as oversharing, cyberbullying, and online exploitation; and
- Steps to take if a student encounters unsafe or inappropriate content online.
Through these presentations, students and families gained valuable tools for maintaining safety, balance, and awareness in today’s digital world. Plumb Hill Middle School extends its appreciation to the Litchfield Prevention Council for sponsoring this meaningful and impactful learning opportunity for our school community.
To learn more about the work of the Litchfield Prevention Council, join us at one of our meetings, held on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Bantam Annex, or reach out through the website contact form.
Protecting Youth From The Harms Of Vaping
The Litchfield Prevention Council and Oliver Wolcott Library are co-sponsoring an event at the library Oct. 16 entitled Protecting Youth From The Harms Of Vaping.
Guests may attend in person or on Zoom, and registration is required in part because pizza will be served for those attending in-person and organizers need to now how much to order.
Register here for the 6 p.m. program. For those who plan to attend on Zoom, click here at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16
In the program, the Western CT Coalition’s Kathy Hanley and Chelsea Kapitancek will be sharing their prevention expertise to inform community members about the background, current climate, concerns, and hopeful future outcomes of underage nicotine and cannabis use prevention.
At this talk participants will:
• Gain an understanding of the effects of nicotine, cannabis, and vaping on the body and developing brain.
• Review local and statewide data around underage nicotine and cannabis use.
• Analyze tactics used by the tobacco and cannabis industries.
• Learn about evidence-based prevention strategies and how to facilitate them within their community.
• Understand how to practice productive conversations with youth about nicotine and cannabis use.
Join Us Aug. 14 for a Fun Wrap-Up to Summer
Bring the family and join us this Thursday, Aug. 14, for a fun wrap-up to summer presented by Litchfield CT Park & Recreation and sponsored by the Litchfield Prevention Council and others.
The Flippenout Trampoline Show will feature world class athletes performing an extreme trampoline show filled with stunts, backed by a great soundtrack, and kicked up a notch with charismatic jokes and commentary.
The free one-hour show takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. at Litchfield Community Field. There will be food trucks on hand, and an ice cream truck.
The event page is here: http://bit.ly/3JtsOQL
Panel Discussion: A Screenage Survival Kit for Parents/Caregivers
The Screenage Survival Kit for Parents/Caregivers panel discussion on May 27 at Oliver Wolcott Library (OWL) featured a lively discussion between the panel and the audience of approximately 25 in-person attendees and others on Zoom.
The Litchfield Prevention Council, Litchfield PTO, and OWL co-sponsored the event. Discussion was facilitated by Caroline Wilcox Urgulu, the Early Literacy and Library Curation Specialist at OWL.
The discussion focused on gaining the tools and support to navigate the turbulent waters of screen use and addiction, and the panelists for the evening were pediatricians Kate Litwin and Lucia Benzoni and social worker Sarah Bolton.
“The parents came away with practical advice about managing their children’s exposure to social media,” Prevention Council chair Gary Waugh said. “There was a consensus that the entire community needed to take responsibility for keeping our children safe on the internet.”
More on the panelists:
Kate Litwin has practiced as a general pediatrician at Rocky Hill Pediatrics for more than 18 years. At work, she routinely counsels parents and patients regarding digital media use. At home, she is the mother of two teenagers and has, like most parents, struggled to set and enforce boundaries at the various stages of child and adolescent development. She has a particular interest in teen mental health and cares for many patients with anxiety, depression, ADHD and eating disorders.
Dr. Lucia Benzoni works in Bristol as a Pediatrician and has 34 years of experience. She lives in Litchfield and is married with five children. A lover of the outdoors, Dr. Benzoni finds joy in engaging in activities like gardening, hiking, and biking. “The struggle is real …. I went from having children that are older that did not have constant access to screens to my youngest child who had constant access.”
Sarah Bolton was born and raised in Woodbury. After graduating from Villanova University, she served a year in the Americorps program in Washington D.C., working for a non-profit agency that encourages adults experiencing homelessness to identify and achieve next steps in their lives. She then lived in New York City and New Haven, continuing her career in public service working for the City of New York and then the State of CT. She eventually made her way back to Litchfield County, settling in Litchfield ten years ago. She obtained her master’s degree in social work from UConn in 2012 and has been working as a school social worker since 2013. Sarah, her husband Jay, and their two children enjoy being involved in the community.
May 27 Event to Promote Positive Screen Use and a Play-Based Childhood
More About the May 27 Discussion
How do parents/caregivers get help with managing screen use? Who can we turn to when things are feeling out of balance or out of control? Is screen use really an issue to be concerned about or is it overblown? Are there trends that we should be aware of happening in our community? All of these questions and more will be addressed by a panel which includes pediatricians, school social workers and other experts. Come with your questions/concerns and we will work toward solutions together.
Meet our Panelists:
Kate Litwin has practiced as a general pediatrician at Rocky Hill Pediatrics for more than 18 years. At work, she routinely counsels parents and patients regarding digital media use. At home, she is the mother of two teenagers and has, like most parents, struggled to set and enforce boundaries at the various stages of child and adolescent development. She has a particular interest in teen mental health and cares for many patients with anxiety, depression, ADHD and eating disorders.
Dr. Lucia Benzoni works in Bristol as a Pediatrician and has 34 years of experience. She lives in Litchfield and is married with five children. A lover of the outdoors, Dr. Benzoni finds joy in engaging in activities like gardening, hiking, and biking. “The struggle is real …. I went from having children that are older that did not have constant access to screens to my youngest child who had constant access.”
Jessica Grant of Prima Wellness Joins Litchfield Prevention Council
Jessica A. Grant, the founder of Prima Wellness, a mental health practice and healing space located in the West Street Yard, has joined the Litchfield Prevention Council and attended her first official meeting in March.
Jessica brings nationally recognized leadership in the domains of mental health and integrative wellness as a licensed psychotherapist, clinical researcher, ayurvedic practitioner, and community herbalist.
She served in a director role within Yale University’s School of Medicine for nearly a decade prior to departing for full-time private practice and consultation work. With over 22 years of clinical experience, Jessica has extensive expertise in the arena of PTSD treatment, neuroscience, and evidence-based practice.
Jessica is deeply passionate about integrating the indigenous wisdom of ecomedicine, eastern philosophy, somatic sciences, and plant psychology as powerful healing alchemists.
She spends much of her time in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, where she supports the cultivation of endangered field and forest botanicals, and shares a deep love for animals with her ever-growing rescue fur family
Her path to joining the Litchfield Prevention Council began when she met council Chair Gary Waugh at the suicide prevention walk at the White Memorial Conservation Center in the summer of 2024.
She was there to support Prima Wellness clients and family members who have personal experiences linked to suicide. The Prevention Council shared a video she made at the event on its Facebook page.
Together they decided Jessica would be a great fit for the council, given her experience with prevention work in the realm of forensic mental health, and in providing training for those using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), an evidence-based model for assessing suicide risk as part of a prevention protocol.
She also played a role in the implementation of various empirical modalities including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in the Connecticut juvenile justice system. DBT is a cognitive-behavioral treatment approach whose goal is to help individuals manage difficult emotions, improve interpersonal relationships, and enhance coping skills.
“Jessica is a wonderful addition to the Litchfield Prevention Council,” Gary Waugh said. “She adds expertise and experience to our focus of reaching and connecting with students and young people to help guide their grown in positive directions.”
To learn more about Jessica Grant, see her Prima Wellness website.
Litchfield Wellness Festival Coming in July
Jessica Grant is also part of the group planning the Litchfield Wellness Festival, which will take place July 5 at Litchfield Community Field and July 6 at the White Memorial Conservation Center and other locations (Stay tuned for the full program.)
The festival will host featured presenters, classes, and vendors in wellness categories including physical and mental health, yoga, movement and fitness, holistic healing, nutrition, herbalism, healthy living, and natural beauty.
In addition to Prima Wellness and Litchfield Park & Recreation, some of the participants and sponsors signed up include Charym Yoga, NKYV Rituals, Kula Collective, Sanctuary Power Yoga, Ageless by Nature, ACE Hardware, Litchfield Health & Wellness Resources, and Litchfield Magazine.
See the Litchfield Wellness Festival website to learn more and for updates.
Prevention Councils Sponsored Harlem Wizards at Lakeview High School
The Litchfield Prevention Council joined with the Wamogo Wellness and Prevention Council and other sponsors to present the Harlem Wizards at Lakeview High School on March 17 for a Lakeview PTO fundraiser.
Litchfield Prevention Council Chair Gary Waugh welcomed guests to the sold-out game that featured the Region 20 Lucky ‘Cats (teachers and staff) taking on the Wizards.
Together with our colleagues on the Wamogo Prevention Council we are proud to be sponsoring tonight’s event. We choose the theme “Growing Together, One Choice at a Time” because it is reflective of the work we do. We want to bring all aspects of our communities together to help us achieve our goal of keeping our children safe. Towards this end, we offer informative programs that encourage good choices and warn against risky ones. We work closely with both parents and educators to deliver our message. We hope you join us in our efforts to “keep our kids safe.” Enjoy the game!
In a post on Instagram, the Lakeview PTO thanked everyone in Region 20 and the Harlem Wizards for supporting the new PTO. “We filled the den and came together as one community for an amazing night,” the post said. “We couldn’t have done it without all of you!”
Lakeview High School is located in the former Wamogo High School as part of Litchfield public schools and Region 6 schools (Morris, Warren, and Goshen) merging to become Region 20.
Join Us for ‘Screenagers’ at Oliver Wolcott Library
Chef Bob’s Ingredients for a Happy & Healthy Life
Our Scarecrow in the Meadow This Past Autumn
Highlighted Mental and Physical Health
Prevention Council Chair Gary Waugh Receives Award
The Western Connecticut Coalition of Prevention Councils presented the Earl Bailey Community Asset Builder Award to Litchfield Prevention Council Chair Gary Waugh at its meeting in September.
The award recognizes Gary and his colleagues on the Prevention Council for their efforts to build a proactive mental health community in Greater Litchfield. It celebrates bringing people and community resources together to facilitate programs that support healthy lifestyles for all of Litchfield’s citizens.
The Litchfield Prevention Council has offered programs on Internet Safety with State Trooper Scott Driscoll, Natural Highs with psychologist Matt Bellace, the Choose Love Movement with Sandy Hook parent Scarlett Lewis, the Free Hugs Project with activist Ken Nwadlke, Jr., and NARCAN Training at the Litchfield Historical Society.
The Council also helped sponsor and participated in the Oct. 19 American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Connecticut Chapter Suicide Prevention walk at White Memorial,
To learn more about the work of the Litchfield Prevention Council, join us at one of our meetings, held on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Bantam Annex, or reach out through the website contact form.
How Art Improves your Mental Health
This book is a fascinating read on how art impacts and improves our mental health, and the various ways different mediums positively impact different parts of the brain. Read a full review of this wonderful book here:
‘Your Brain on Art’ explores how even bad art makes for good health
San Francisco Chronicle, March 14, 2023
Poster Contest Winners
These are the winning posters
created by Litchfield High School art students
The Litchfield Prevention Council Student Art Poster Contest Rationale: The Litchfield Prevention Council wants to encourage citizens throughout our community to live a healthy, balanced life and to avoid risky behaviors that will endanger that balance. With this goal in mind, we are announcing a series of Art Contests open to all Litchfield High School students. Our goal is to promote positive mindfulness, being kind to ourselves and to those with whom we interact. Our first theme is a celebration of acts of kindness, kindness directed toward self and/or others.
