SAUGUS — The Prevention Coalition met Tuesday night to dive into their upcoming events and make plans for the future. One point of focus was their newest event, “Understanding the Teen Brain,” which will take place April 29 at the Saugus Middle High School Auditorium.
“We’re really excited about this. I just wanted to thank Krystal (Mellonakos) for all her work in connecting. This is the parent/caregiver workshop ‘Understanding the Teen Brain,” said Katy Dos Santos, a founding coalition member.
Mellonakos, who is the regional coordinator of the MassCALL3 Youth Substance Use Prevention grant, spoke more in-depth on the upcoming event.
“We’re partnering with Eliot Family Resource Center, and they will be sending a couple clinicians our way to do an ‘Understanding the Teen Brain’ workshop. So, it’s really great for parents of teenagers, or pre-teens, or even kids,” Mellonakos said.
Eliot Community Health Service’s mission is “accomplished by responding to the needs and diversity we serve; providing comprehensive services that are individualized, accessible, educational, and strengths-based; delivering high quality, evidence-based programming; and valuing, enriching and partnering with our staff, our clients and our communities,” according to their website.
Mellonakos explained that the workshop will go into what is going on in the teen brain and what some of the reasoning behind certain decision-making is or lack thereof.
She continued that the workshop will also show “the best ways we can support them (teens) during this transition and making sure that they have the tools that they need to become successful adults.”
The event will run from 6-8 p.m., and childcare will be provided.
“If you have little ones that you can’t find childcare for or want to bring along with you, we will have childcare for that, and we’ll have fun activities for the kids. We will have pizza, and if you register and attend, you will be entered into a raffle to win one of three $50 Visa gift cards,” she said.
Mellonakos said that they are trying to get as many people as they can to come, and they also want to receive feedback on whether the event was helpful and what other topics people may be interested in learning about.
“I was able to meet with the high school and middle school principals, and they sent out an email regarding this to all parents of the middle and high school,” Dos Santos said. “It’s really been put out there, which is a huge win.
“If we fill the auditorium, that would be amazing. That would be incredible. If we just have two rows filled, it would be wonderful for parents.”
The group is looking into more ways to get involved and spread awareness of the coalition. They are planning more events that they look forward to announcing in the future.
The next meeting is set for May 6.
