Format

Individual Presentation

Location

Percival

Strand #1

Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Safety & Violence Prevention

Relevance

This session will provide tools for social and emotional learning. The Let’s Talk: Runaway Prevention Curriculum has 14 module topics encompassing over 30 youth approved activities. As a life skills curriculum, all the topics focus on issues that pertain to all youth. This one of a kind curriculum offers youth approved activities on a variety of critical topics for today’s youth and youth providers. For example, the curriculum engages youth in positive identity development in our adolescent development and personal influences modules. There is an entire module dedicated to communication and listening as well as future life planning. The entire resource addresses decision making, accessing resources as well as problem solving. The presentation will also highlight safety and violence prevention in the prevention curriculum. The internet safety and fun module highlights how youth can interact safely online. There is also an anger management module and a stress reduction module as well. Youth and participants will be introduced to NRS’ 5 step crisis intervention model to help with conflict resolution and crisis management. The national safe connections module was developed with National Safe Place and youth are given the opportunity to identify their own safe place. The curriculum activities provide for cooperative learning by engaging youth in pertinent discussion within a facilitated group setting Participants in the session will be introduced to all of these topics and more through our prevention curriculum and NRS services.

Brief Program Description

This engaging workshop for youth providers will equip participants with a free prevention curriculum to engage at-risk youth in social emotional learning and provide information about the services provided by the National Runaway Safeline (1-800-RUNAWAY). Participants will experience youth approved activities, discover resources for at-risk youth and their families, and develop an action plan to implement this exciting free resource.

Summary

Annually in the U.S., between 1.6 and 2.8 million youth run away or are expelled from their homes. NRS makes 250,000 connections to help and hope through its crisis hotline (1-800-RUNAWAY) and online services (www.1800RUNAWAY.org) each year. 1-800-RUNAWAY services will be introduced to participants to help improve outcomes for youth and those that support them. Participants will explore methods to reach youth at-risk and equip them with supportive resources. By promoting the well-being of youth and focusing on real world life skills, learning, and resilience, participants will be better equipped to support all types of youth. To this end, participants will be introduced to NRS' Let's Talk: Runaway Prevention Curriculum, which is a free, evidence-based, user-friendly 14-module curriculum. Let’s Talk is intended to build life skills, increase knowledge about runaway resources and prevention, educate about alternatives to running away, and encourage youth to access and seek help from trusted community members. Participants will walk away with these prevention activities to conduct with youth on various topics such as communication, stress reduction, anger management, crisis intervention, peer pressure and much more. This experiential workshop will highlight over 40 youth approved activities to be done with youth grades 5-12. Overall, the evaluation data suggest that this evidence-based prevention program is beneficial to the youth who participate in the modules, both in increasing awareness and knowledge of how to deal with challenging life situations, as well as in reshaping the way youth think about how to overcome these obstacles in a healthy manner. All participants will receive copies of the curriculum, learn about the social/emotional health benefits of the curriculum and learn best practices for presenting the prevention curriculum.

Evidence

Overall, the evaluation data suggest that this evidence-based prevention program is beneficial to the youth who participate in the modules, both in increasing awareness and knowledge of how to deal with challenging life situations, as well as in reshaping the way youth think about how to overcome these obstacles in a healthy manner.

Biographical Sketch

Melanie Santarelli, MPH, was brought to the National Runaway Safeline (NRS) in 2013 as the Prevention Specialist to promote and provide technical assistance for the prevention curriculum. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Studies concentrating on Secondary Education from Eastern Illinois University and then went on to earn a Master in Public Health degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has a strong dedication to youth initiatives, underserved and at-risk populations, and prevention efforts. She has over four years of combined experience working in direct and indirect service care pertaining to sexual health, lead poisoning prevention, self-management techniques, and runaway prevention. Her experience as a presenter encompasses high school health curriculums, various school-based and community-based settings, and national conferences. Melanie is a dedicated youth advocate offering several years of experience working with or for youth.

Keyword Descriptors

prevention, at-risk, runaway, life skills, social emotional learning, resources

Presentation Year

2015

Start Date

3-2-2015 1:15 PM

End Date

3-2-2015 2:30 PM

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Mar 2nd, 1:15 PM Mar 2nd, 2:30 PM

Let’s Talk: Runaway Prevention: Building Life Skills and Resilience with At-Risk Youth

Percival

This engaging workshop for youth providers will equip participants with a free prevention curriculum to engage at-risk youth in social emotional learning and provide information about the services provided by the National Runaway Safeline (1-800-RUNAWAY). Participants will experience youth approved activities, discover resources for at-risk youth and their families, and develop an action plan to implement this exciting free resource.