Special Events

A Night to Shine, Thursday, June 7: SPONSOR, BUY A TICKET or DONATE TODAY!

 

 

 

Thursday, June 7, 2012

6:00-8:00PM

Sheraton Framingham 

 

Wayside’s story began in 1977 when a group of citizens formed one of the first residences in New England for runaway and homeless youth—Harbinger House. As the need for alternatives to orphanages, reform schools, and psychiatric hospitals grew, Wayside responded by expanding to include an array of services which support youth and families in their community.

 

Over the years, the Wayside network has incorporated a number of long-standing, local community organizations.  They share Wayside’s commitment to helping the children and families of the region, complementing Wayside’s overall spectrum of care.  Today, Wayside is one of Massachusetts’ most respected child and family serving agencies.

 

Join us on June 7, 2012, as we celebrate 35 years of community support and give our terrific kids, families and staff a Night to Shine!

 

This will be a fast-paced event with great food, cool auction items and a few surprises – so don’t miss out!

 

 

 

Contact Marisa Rowe for more information.

 

 

          

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MetroSuburban Advocacy Initiative East Legislative Breakfast, Friday, May 18

 

2012 MetroSuburban Advocacy Initiative East

Annual Legislative Breakfast

Friday, May 18

8:30-10:30

Hellenic Center, 25 Bigelow Ave., Watertown

 

The Legislative Breakfast is your chance to hear from your legislators about issues surrounding social services. If you live or work in the MetroSuburban East area, please feel free to join us. Invited guests include Senators and Representatives from the MetroBoston (west and north) area, Stakeholders across the communities (concerned citizens, consumers, advocates, human services providers – staff, management, and Boards).

 

Download the Legislative Breakfast flyer

 

Sponsored by:

 

 

What are Teens Thinking? Understanding the Development of the Teen Brain: The Impact of Alcohol & Marijuana, May 2

 

Wednesday, May 2, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

(Doors open at 6:00 PM – light refreshments)

Watertown High School

Opening Remarks by Representative Jon Hecht

 

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Traci Brooks, Director of Adolescent Services, Cambridge Health Alliance

 

 

Panelists:

Jennifer Rifkin, Institute for Health & Recovery

Detective Tom Grady, Watertown Police Department

Steve Watson, Headmaster, Watertown High School

Andrew Allegro, Watertown Public Schools

 

 

FREE Child Care for Children 4+ RSVP: 617-926-3600 x 311

For more information, contact Melanie at 617-926-3600 x 307

 

 

RAFFLE DRAWING: Chance to WIN an iPOD Touch & more!

 

 

Download May 2 Town Hall Meeting Flyer.

 

 

Sponsored by : Wayside Multi-Service Center & Watertown Public Schools. Funded by: The MA Dept of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Abuse Services, US Department of Education, Grant to Reduce Alcohol Abuse, US Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, STOP Underage Drinking Grant

 

www.watertownyouthcoalition.org

 

 

Tempo Highlighted at Social Issue Talk with Dr. MaryAnn Davis

On Wednesday, April 4, Root Cause’s Social Innovation Forum hosted its Social Issue Talk featuring 2012 Social Innovator Tempo Young Adult Resource Center. We are grateful to the Gordon Brothers for hosting this event and to the Sudbury Foundation for providing funding.

 

Dr. MaryAnn Davis, research associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UMass Medical School and the director of the Learning and Working during Transition to Adulthood Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (Transitions RTC), delivered a presentation outlinining the challenges facing transition-age youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions. Dr. Davis’s focus is on the development of adult role functioning during the transition from adolescence to mature adulthood. She has examined conflicts between the developmental needs of this transitioning population and policies and practices at the federal, state, and local levels of health, human service and education agencies. She has studied service system supports, barriers to healthy development, and policies that shape those service patterns, and she has worked with Congress to develop legislation to better address the needs of this population. Dr. Davis’ work also emphasizes developing evidence-based interventions that improve this population’s transition into adulthood, including mental health and related treatment, interventions that reduce criminal behavior and support successful completion of education and training, and movement into mature work lives.

 

After Dr. Davis’s fascinating presentation, Yolanda Ortiz, program director for Tempo Young Adult Resource Center, spoke briefly about how Tempo’s program is designed to work best for the particular developmental stage of youth between the ages of 17 and 24.  Dr. Davis’s information made it clear that youth transitioning to adulthood aren’t children nor are they adults – and services that place them into one category or another don’t work. For example, an 18 year old needing mental health services doesn’t always have a parent to make sure he goes to appointments. Nor is the 18 year old developmentally mature enough to understand the full implications of skipping treatment. So, how do we ensure that these transition-age youth get the services they need? According to Dr. Davis, we develop programs that are developmentally tailored to transition age youth, programs that are appealing, programs that support development of adult functioning and programs that can continue work as youth mature. Tempo does that. Tempo is fun, friendly and non-judgmental. All of its services are offered under one roof. There are no waiting lists and no eligbility requirements.

 

For more information about Tempo, visit www.tempoyoungadults.org. To view pictures from the event, click here.  Download Dr. MaryAnn Davis’s presentation.

 

Wayside Youth Clothesline Project Event, Thurs., Jan. 26

The Wayside Youth Clothesline Project addresses the healing among victims and witnesses of violence through the creation of t-shirts which are hung and viewed on clothesline by the public.  The clothesline will be displayed at Northbridge High School from January 25-27.

Please join us for an Open Community Viewing on Thursday, January 26, from 5-7pm at Northbridge High School, 427 Linwood Ave., Whitinsville, MA 01588

This collection of t-shirts:

*is created by teens from area high schools

*illustrates the effects violence has had on their lives

*helps deliver their messages to end the cycle of violence

The Clothesline Project (CLP) is a program started on Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women and children. It is a vehicle for those affected by violence to express their emotions by decorating a shirt. They then hang the shirt on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem of violence against women. With the support of many, it has since spread world-wide. 

NAMI Basics Education Program in Waltham, Feb. 11-25

The fundamentals of caring for you, your family and your child with mental illness

 

Saturday, February 11

Saturday, February 18

Saturday, February 25

 

Classes start at 9:30am and end at 3:30pm. You must commit to attending all three Saturday sessions. The BASICS program is FREE. Classes will be held at Wayside Youth and Family, 118 Central Street, Waltham MA 02453. SPACE IS LIMITED.

 

What is NAMI Basics?

 

NAMI Basics is an education program for parents and other caregivers of children and adolescents living with mental illnesses.  The NAMI Basics course is taught by trained teachers who are the parent or other caregivers of individuals who developed the symptoms of mental illness prior to the age of 13 years. All instruction materials are FREE to participants.

 

What will I learn?

 

The basic information necessary to take the best care possible of your child, your family, and yourself.

 

Skills to help you cope with the impact mental illness has on your child and your entire family.

 

The tools you will need to assist you in making the best decisions possible for the care of your child.

 

 

What does the course include?

 

Understanding the emotional impact of a mental illness diagnosis.

 

Understanding how the child is feeling and learning to separate the child you love from the illness that alters their behavior and abilities.

 

Current information about ADD, Mood Disorders, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Anxiety Disorders, OCD, PTSD, Personality Disorders, Childhood Schizophrenia and Substance Abuse Disorders.Current research on the biology of mental illness and treatment strategies available, including medications used to treat mental illness in children and adolescents. Specific workshops to learn problem solving, listening and communication skills.

 

Strategies that have been found helpful in handling challenging behaviors in children and adolescents.

 

Information about the school system and the mental health system.

 

Record keeping systems that can help you manage the paperwork to will need to have available to school and healthcare systems.

 

Information on planning for crisis management and relapse .

 

Information on finding supports and services within the community to build a community of support for yourself and your family.

 

Wellness tools and tips to help reduce stress and find time to help yourself.

 

Information on advocacy initiatives, that you can participate in, to improve and expand services, emphasizing the importance of personal advocates for the family and family support programs that really work.

 

 

 

For more information, please contact: Judi Maguire, Parent Support Coordinator, 781- 891-0556 x34  judi_maguire@waysideyouth.org

 

Wayside’s 5K4Kids, November 5, 2011

A GREAT SUCCESS!

 

Wayside’s 2nd Annual 5K4Kids took place this past Saturday, November 5, and was a great success! More than 300 people registered to run or walk and hundreds more were there for support. As always we couldn’t have done it alone.

 

Grateful thanks go to:

 

*Our sponsors, particularly presenting sponsor Fallon Community Health Plan, for providing financial and product support!

*Our individual donors, who helped us exceed our fundraising goal for the second year in a row! This year’s event has raised more than $43,000 to help kids and families in need.

*Our volunteers for turning up before dawn to help!

*Our ace photographer Jodie Marcoux for donating her services!

*All of our runners, walkers and fans!

 

Click here for race results. And check out more pictures from the event on our Facebook page.

 

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

                                  

AN EVENT TIMELINE 

 

The day began at dawn with our volunteers and staff setting up at Cushing Memorial Park.

 

 

Volunteers organizing tee shirts in the registration tent

 

 

Just before 9am, our first runners began to arrive for registration. More than 40 runners from Natick Fit Girls, a running club for girls in 4th to 6th grades, showed up in bright green jerseys.

 

Natick Fit Girls before the race

 

After registering, people checked out our vendor and sponsor tables, stocked with so0me great free goodies! Thanks to mom.com, Melting Pot, Metro Credit Union, Captain’s Coffee, Sodexo, Honest Tea and Pop Chips for providing free giveaways!

 

At 10 minutes to 10, runners and walkers began to line up near the start. Wayside President & CEO Eric L. Masi welcomed runners and thanked our terrific sponsors.

Fallon’s Dave Przesiek counts down

The mic was turned over to Fallon Community Health Plan’s Dave Przesiek, who counted down to the start.

 

And they were off! Runners took off to the theme to Rocky playing over the speakers.

 

Less than 18 minutes later (17:58, to be exact) our first runner, Michael Clements of Marlboro, crossed the finish line.

Michael Clements crossing the finish line

 

Many runners followed…Including a lot of parents pushing strollers!

 

At 10:45, the Kids’ Races started. They were organized in several heats with kids arranged by size.

By 11:10, all the runners and walkers had crossed the finish line and it was time for the Awards Presentation!

 

Eric Masi presents 12-year old Caroline Phelps with the medal for Top Finisher in her age group.

Participants and their families and friends enjoyed themselves after the race.

 

 

 

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network
1 Frederick Abbott Way Framingham, MA 01701
PH:508-879-9800 FAX:508-875-1348
www.waysideyouth.org