Risk factors

Juvenile Justice: We Can and Must Do Better

Compass Mark focuses on youth in the criminal justice system this month because—like adults—many enter this system due to the multiple hardships they have faced, including childhood toxic stress. Young people with mental health or addiction issues—or both—have a higher…
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Toxic Stress: Difficult Childhoods Impact Body & Brain

It was the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study in 1997 that made the link between early trauma and illness later in life official. The results overwhelmingly showed that the more significant hardships a person goes through in childhood, the greater…
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Building Healthy Brains: There is Life After Trauma

As we learned in our June Mental Health Moment segment, adverse childhood experiences (ACES) can result in toxic levels of stress, which can harm our physical and mental health later in life. This month, we focus on helping children to…
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Preparing for the Year Ahead with Student Assistance Programs (SAP)

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…
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The Return of Kids Kamp!

After a year of hard work, our Leaders of Future Generations students joined together for an exciting week full of opportunities to grow, build, strengthen friendships, and enjoy nature at Kids Kamp! During the week of June 21st through 25th,…
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Participant to Presenter

Compass Mark’s Josh Mountz has been selected to present at the Commonwealth Prevention Alliance’s statewide annual conference. During this year’s conference, Josh will be leading a workshop focused on problem gambling within our aging populations. Josh has worked as a…
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Compass Mark’s SAP Training Team Receives Certification

Our Student Assistance Training (SAP) Team – Deb, Josh, and Bevan – have successfully met every criterion for the Student Assistance Program state monitoring! This is a rigorous evaluation of our training standards and competencies that happen every two years…
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Leaders of Future Generations Embrace the New Year!

 Leaders of Future Generations at Taylor Campus Middle School in Columbia Borough School District. Our Leaders of Future Generations program is now up and running in Columbia! Twelve 5th- and 6th-grade students participated and were incredibly enthusiastic to join in…
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Better to Prevent than to React

It may be a hard sell–in the middle of a public health pandemic, with an addiction crisis still looming–to get excited about prevention science. But we are always passionate about preventing substance misuse and problem gambling, and love to share…
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