School year 2020-2021 was extraordinarily challenging for schools, educators, parents, and students. Youth were separated from friends, extracurricular activities, and classrooms. Additionally, students were distanced from essential school staff members who are sources of support, compassion, and encouragement. During this time, students have reported increased levels of stress and anxiety, interruptions in sleep and eating…
Compass Mark has received a grant to offer free medication disposal bags to residents of Lancaster, Lebanon, and Chester ounties, PA. Keeping unused or expired medications in your medicine cabinet can lead to misuse or accidental ingestion. The newest option for the disposal of unused and expired medications are medication disposal bags. We are now…
The Lancaster and Lebanon County Commissioners have proclaimed the week of May 9th through 15th, 2021 as “National Prevention Week” National Prevention Week (NPW) is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of substance use prevention and positive mental health. NPW is a public education platform that promotes prevention year-round through providing ideas, capacity building,…
Prevention of substance use and gambling disorders is NOT simply about telling kids not to do these things. Effective prevention starts with identifying what children and youth in the community need, and then meeting that need with research-backed strategies. Risk & Protective Factors: The Foundation for Effective Prevention Risk factors are those things that increase…
Compass Mark, once again, paired with the Lebanon County Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse to distribute red ribbons to school across Lebanon County. Students will wear the ribbons to help celebrate Red Ribbon Week from October 23rd through October 31st. The Red Ribbon Week Campaign serves to educate youth and promote involvement in drug…
On Saturday October 21st Josh Mountz, Compass Mark Prevention Specialist, joined Chief Todd Breiner from the Lebanon City Police for the DEA’s National Drug Take Back Day. The event is dedicated to collecting unused or expired medication to make sure that they do not get into the wrong hands. Pennsylvania Youth Survey data states that…
Last month Compass Mark, in partnership with the Lancaster Lebanon IU13, held the annual Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) Summit. This event was designed to teach schools and administrators on how to integrate the PAYS substance use data in local planning. Summit attendees learned how to read and interpret the data, recognize, and address risk factors,…
The Addiction Resource Center at Compass Mark is is adapting to reach out in new ways to the communities we serve. This week marks the rollout of a website chat feature on compassmark.org so that the public can interact with our Information & Referral team quickly and anonymously. The web chat icon can be found…
The Advocacy Team at Compass Mark created a packet containing three lessons with corresponding worksheets for students and families to enjoy at home. The lessons taught on personal strengths, time management, and goal setting. Even the cover page offered a chance to color and cut out your own bookmark! The packets were printed and dispersed…