News & Events

It’s a snap for SIDS Awareness Month!
Spread the word about safe infant sleep.

Dear caregivers:

To help raise awareness about safe infant sleep during Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness Month in October, we’re inviting you to participate in a fun and friendly photo activity called #SafeSleepSnap.

Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles—anyone can participate by sharing a photo of a baby in a safe sleep area on their social media accounts. Make sure you use the hashtag #SafeSleepSnap so everyone can see the adorable pictures of babies in safe sleep areas.

(Not sure what a safe sleep area looks like? Check out this page for details.)

Here are the specifics:

1. Post a photo of your baby, grandbaby, niece, or nephew in or next to a safe sleep area on your social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
2. Use the hashtag #SafeSleepSnap in the post. This is how we’ll know you participated!
3. Give yourself kudos for taking part in #SafeSleepSnap and helping raise awareness about safe infant sleep.

Be creative! Practicing safe infant sleep can be fun. Creativity and humor are encouraged in the photos and captions, as long as the baby’s sleep area follows safe sleep recommendations. This album includes examples you can use as inspiration.

This is your opportunity to both show off your cutie and help other caregivers see that safe infant sleep can be fun!

We will also be posting #SafeSleepSnap guidelines on our accounts throughout October. Please like the photos, retweet them, and share them with your friends and followers.

We look forward to seeing your #SafeSleepSnap!

Here are a few links to help you discuss race relations with your children. Remember to limit what smaller children are exposed to on the news and social media. Some information is not appropriate for all ages and can frighten children or create negative reactions. Open and honest discussions that are age appropriate can lead to understanding and acceptance of people's differences.  If you need more guidance, consider joining an Active Parenting workshop when they resume, learn more about our workshops here.

FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY & HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

• 26 Mini-Films for Exploring Race, Bias and Identity with Students for Upper Elementary & High School

FOR PRESCHOOL AND EARLY ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

• COMING TOGETHER: Standing Up to Racism - A Town Hall for kids and families from CNN and Sesame Street (preschool and early elementary)

FOR ALL AGES

• TALKING ABOUT RACE - NAAMHC (National Museum of African American History & Culture) and The Smithsonian Institution. A web portal with resources for parents, teachers, and the general public (for all ages).

Do you ever stop to think about your overall approach to parenting? How about your partner’s? Identifying your parenting styles can be very helpful in figuring out how to understand each other and in making positive changes. Take the Active Parenting Quiz online or download it here and find out if a workshop is right for you!

People who experience trauma as children are more likely to suffer severe health consequences later in life.Violence, substance misuse, and mental health problems that people witness in childhood are potentially traumatic, and are called "Adverse childhood experiences," (or ACEs).

  

According to researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, an analysis revealed the link between self-reported ACEs and 14 negative health conditions and socioeconomic factors. They found that 60.9% of adults reported one adverse childhood experience, while 15.6% reported four or more. 

Such experiences were "significantly associated with poorer health outcomes, health risk behaviors, and socioeconomic challenges," the study says, including depression, heavy drinking, smoking, lower educational attainment and unemployment. These experiences also are closely tied to at least five of the top causes of death in the United States: heart disease, cancer, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and suicide. 

Public health experts say addressing childhood trauma is key to reversing the U.S. opioid epidemic and bringing down the high rate of "deaths of despair" from drugs, alcohol and suicide in the U.S. While preventing ACEs and addressing their consequences later in life is easier said than done, multiple programs and approaches could help.

Willowstone Family Services helps fill the gap of prevention services available to combat the effects of adverse childhood experiences. Our parenting workshops, Get S-M-A-R-T, Jr. program, mental health counseling, Healthy Families and Baby TALK, all assist in building resilient communities with children and families equipped to weather the storms of life. Consider joining our cause to build awareness, equip families and provide solutions for mental health issues to positively impact our community.

RESILIENCE IS WITHIN OUR REACH!

LAFAYETTE, IN - Willowstone Family Services in collaboration with Calla Collaborative Health is now offering Get S-M-A-R-T, Jr., a revolutionary substance use education and prevention program. This program is open to the community and available to teenage students, ages 14 – 18 years old. The five-week program will be held on Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.  at Willowstone Family Services, located at 615 N. 18^th Street, Suite 101, Lafayette, IN 47904. There is no cost for the program thanks to a grant from the Drug Free Coalition of Tippecanoe County. Registration for the class is available online at www.willowstone.org, or parents may contact our office at 765-423-5361.

Read full release here:  Get Smart Jr News Release 1.2020.pdf