What Do You Know About Handle With Care?
YouTubeJoin us on our YouTube channel on Feb 22 at 12 pm for a chat with Andrea Darr, Director of the WV Center for Children's Justice and Manager of the Handle With Care WV program, and with coordinators who implement the program from around the state. We'll take your questions, Read more…
Trauma-Informed Schools in WV
YouTubeTrauma-informed schools are places that provide safe and supportive environments for children to learn and for school staff to work. What do you know about trauma-informed schools in West Virginia? Join us for a conversation about how schools across counties in WV are working to address trauma— the challenges, what's Read more…
What About the Little Ones? NAS in West Virginia
YouTubeNeonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of conditions caused when a baby withdraws from certain drugs that they are exposed to in the womb before birth. West Virginia has the highest rate in the country of babies born with NAS or drug-exposed. The toll it's taking on these children, Read more…
Project Update: Kids and the Drug Crisis
ZoomIn 2020, Think Kids launched a new initiative to better address the unmet needs of kids affected by the drug epidemic on the community level. It's a grassroots, ground-up approach to the continuing challenges our kids face— issues often left unaddressed. While our focus is on a six-county area— Boone, Read more…
Health and Hunger Summit Session 1: Can a Collaborative Conduit Connect Systems?
ZoomConnecting the health care system with food resource providers— pantries, summer feeding programs, etc.— takes strategy, collaboration, and people power. How can providers connect patients who identify as food insecure to resources if they don't know where they are? How can they tell them when the mobile food pantry is Read more…
Including All Kids: Discussion with Healthcare Providers
YouTubeMany of the challenges families face when accessing healthcare for their children with developmental disabilities is a lack of access to quality care. Sometimes, specialty care is only found states away. Or, local health care providers don't take your insurance or are not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Read more…
Family Treatment Courts for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders
YouTubeFamily treatment courts, also known as family drug courts, use a multidisciplinary approach to serve families who enter the child welfare system due to familial substance use disorders. They're relatively new to West Virginia and currently only run in certain counties. Join us to learn about where they are, what Read more…
Health and Hunger Summit Session 2: Can youth help build a better network?
ZoomMost of our community pantries, soup kitchens, and backpack programs are staffed by older volunteers who are at heightened risk of COVID-19 and sometimes perform strenuous tasks without assistance. How can we cultivate a network of younger volunteers to help sustain the important work communities do and learn the benefits Read more…
Health and Hunger Summit Session 3: Can we fix the transportation challenge?
ZoomWest Virginia, like most rural states, lacks public transportation in its rural communities. People without cars or money for gas, insurance, and repairs often have trouble accessing services and programs, including grocery stores, food pantries, and health care. In this session, we'll talk to the directors of our state's food Read more…
Health and Hunger Summit Session 4: Could better local and state policy improve systems?
ZoomWe wrap up the summit series with a simple question: What's next? Can good ideas to improve systems and community health translate into local and state policy reform? Join us for a candid, constructive conversation about local and state policy— the current landscape, ideas for policy reform, and how we Read more…
Advocate for Kids! Become a CASA Volunteer
YouTubeYouTube Link: https://youtu.be/Omhnvtl7w0c Who you are, where you are, with what you have to give-- that's all the kids in West Virginia need from you. And that's all you need to give to become an amazing advocate! Some of our children face seemingly insurmountable challenges, but the compassion of loving Read more…
Trauma-Informed Schools: A Community Discussion
Join us at the Raymer Center in Martinsburg for a conversation about the concept of trauma-informed schools: How do Berkeley County schools provide trauma-informed care? What's the role of community-based partners? What are the successes, challenges, and recommendations for improvement? Refreshments will be provided. Contact Kelli at kelli@thinkkidswv.org for details. Read more…