Thurston County, WA – Thurston County became the first jurisdiction in the state to adopt a marijuana- and- alcohol-focused “social host ordinance”, a model policy to help prevent underage substance abuse and improve public health and safety. According to the most recent (2014) Healthy Youth Survey (HYS), more than half (56%) of Thurston County 12th graders who drank alcohol got it from a friend or at a party. Limiting access to alcohol and drugs helps prevent youth use and related harms, but parents also play a huge role. The new ordinance sends a message that while the majority of Thurston County parents already actively prevent underage drinking and marijuana gatherings on their property, all parents and caregivers are expected to do so. “Parents matter,” says Meghan Sullivan, Executive Director of a youth-focused agency, TOGETHER!. “This policy is another reminder of the import role parents play in their kids’ lives. Ask them where they are going, who they will be with, and whether or not an adult will be present. Tell them regularly that you don’t approve of them using alcohol, marijuana or other drugs.”
The ordinance also aims to address other factors affecting a youth’s decision to stay substance free. About one third (32% of 10th grade and 36% of 12th grade) of Thurston County high school students say laws and norms are favorable to substance use (HYS, 2014), a risk factor for youth use and related problems. Further, public and traffic safety were also considered. Aside from alcohol, marijuana is the most frequently-occurring drug used by drivers involved in deadly crashes in our state (Washington Traffic Safety Commission, 2015). Twenty-nine percent of Thurston County 12th graders report they’ve ridden in a vehicle driven by someone who had been using marijuana (HYS, 2014), and among those who current use marijuana, that number sharply increases.
In 2016, TOGETHER!’s partnered with County Commissioner Bud Blake to create a plan for introducing the model policy concept in Thurston County, building upon a foundation laid by Rainier, Mercer Island and other communities. On Tuesday February 28, the Thurston County Commissioners took a smart step to adopt the policy, which takes effect 30 days later. “I’m excited that Thurston County is taking a leadership role in encouraging responsible behavior with our youth. We hope parents and adults will use this as an opportunity to talk with kids about their expectations.”
Other key partners include Commissioners Hutchings and Edwards, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, and Thurston County Drug Action Team. Social host ordinances are an effective environmental policy for communities interested in reducing underage drinking and marijuana use supported by the Washington State Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, the Washington Healthy Youth Coalition, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
TOGETHER! is a nonprofit organization founded in 1989 to serve youth and families in the South Sound and beyond with a mission to advance the health and well-being of all young people. TOGETHER! offers direct service youth programs, mobilizes communities through coalitions, advocates for healthier laws, norms and systems and promotes health through community and individual education.
For further information, contact, Johnna Knoerr, Program Director at 360.493.2230 ext. 110 or jknoerr@ThurstonTOGETHER.org.
For the KOMO News story on this, click here.
TOGETHER! is accepting proposals for presentations that redefine prevention within the four focus areas of Accessing Educational Equity, Addiction in Context, Building Community Resiliency, and Health & Wellness for our 2018 Healthy Futures Conference. Please follow this link to fill out our Call for Proposals. The survey will close on Monday, December 18, 2017 at 5pm. We will respond to all proposals by Wednesday, January 31st.
Proposals must fit within at least one of the following four focus areas:
Successful proposals will:
Nominees are middle and high school students; scholarships available
Left to right: SPSCC Foundation Development Manager Anne Larson, scholarship recipient Aylin Gonzalez-Ramirez holding her daughter, and Thurston County Commissioner Bud Blake at the 2016 Awards of Excellence Ceremony. Credit Shanna Paxton Photography.
Local youth will be recognized for their resilience in the face of adversity at youth development nonprofit TOGETHER!’s annual Awards of Excellence ceremony on May 13th, 2017 at South Puget Sound Community College. Five or more nominees, selected by a committee of event organizers and key partners, will receive scholarships, sponsored by Gateway
Rotary and other organizations. All nominees will see their pictures and stories printed in The Olympian, and be honored at the ceremony, where they and their families will be invited to enjoy dessert with representatives from their nominating schools and programs.
Nominations are currently being solicited from middle and high schools as well as some youth- serving community organizations in Thurston and Mason Counties. Nominators are encouraged to consider the diversity of their communities in selecting their nominees.
Last year, TOGETHER! honored 32 exceptional children and youth for their strength and leadership as part of their first Awards of Excellence ceremony since 2012. Gateway Rotary, TwinStar Credit Union, and South Puget Sound Community College Foundation sponsored four $1,000 scholarships and one full-year SPSCC tuition waiver, which were awarded to five deserving students.
TOGETHER! is a local nonprofit organization that engages and mobilizes families, schools and the community to advance the health, safety and success of our youth. They educate about issues affecting the community; work for laws, policies and community practices that support positive youth development; and provide direct services to children, youth and families. They work with coalitions and partnerships to improve effectiveness.
View PDF here.
TOGETHER! is excited to announce we are once again planning to apply for 21st Century Community Learning Center funding from Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Based on planning with NTPS and other partners, we are applying to provide after school, summer and family enrichment programming at Lydia Hawk Elementary School & Pleasant Glade Elementary School.
We are proud to partner with the following entities:
With additional dedicated funding from:
We are so grateful for the support and feedback from the families and students who were surveyed to design the services. The following is a table of their input:
Parent survey results
Description
Both Schools
Lydia Hawk
Pleasant Glade
My Child…
Would attend after school
100%
Would attend summer school
51%
56%
43%
Needs Reading instructional support
74%
72%
79%
Needs Math instructional support
64%
Needs Writing/Spelling instructional support
60%
71%
As a Parent/Guardian, I…
Can’t help child with homework
59%
92%
0%
I am interested in attending trainings on…
49%
48%
50%
38%
44%
29%
33%
36%
23%
32%
7%
Student Survey Results
Parents speak mostly Spanish at home
30%
53%
Don’t have someone at home to help with homework
47%
17%
Don’t read during the summer
63%
73%
Don’t practice math skills during the summer
41%
25%
Need bus transportation to attend program
I am interested in learning about
80%
67%
81%
83%
37%
40%
Attached you will find the 21st Century Community Learning Center Proposal Abstract.
TOGETHER! and North Thurston Public Schools will find out if the grant is funded by July 8th, 2019.
If you have questions about our submission, please contact, Meagan Darrow, TOGETHER! Deputy Director.
Did you know that TOGETHER! was a partner in making transportation accessible in rural areas of our region? Alongside Intercity Transit and Thurston Regional Planning Council, we support Rural Transit, which connects the communities of Rochester, Tenino, Bucoda, Rainier and Yelm, and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation to the greater tri-city area of Tumwater, Olympia and Lacey. Rural Transit connects to Twin Transit in Lewis County and Intercity Transit in Thurston County.
As of June 4th, Rural Transit offers more mid-day trip on Routes 3 and 4 to Chehalis Tribal Center and Centralia, as well as direct, no transfer trips to Centralia for veterans. Rides cost $1 each way and are free for veterans, active duty military and children under 5 years old. Rural Transit also accepts passes from Intercity Transit, Twin Transit, ORCA and STAR.
Access to services is a necessary part of advancing the health and wellbeing of all young people, and many youth and families in our area depend on public transportation in order to access education, healthcare, employment and social services. We are proud to be able to support this partnership with other organizations in our area.
If you'd like to know more or help us spread the word, please email info@thurstontogether.org with any questions, comments or suggestions, or to request fliers and schedules for your community or place of business.
This holiday season, let’s Celebrate TOGETHER! All year round, we offer programs and services that enrich our community by caring for some of our most vulnerable members: our children. TOGETHER! works across sectors to advance the health and well-being of all young people through impactful youth development, health promotion, community engagement, and family support programs. But you already know that – if you’re reading this, that means you’ve made it to our website, probably through our newsletter or social media accounts, meaning you’re already a supporter of our organization, either as a donor, a volunteer, or just a friendly community member. Thank you for coming this far with us.
No one is quite sure what the future holds. 2018 bears the promise of new projects and partnerships that will serve our community in ways sorely needed, but also new challenges, some of which we can’t foresee. All we know is that we want to be there to support those youth and families who need us, the ones we already know and the ones who are yet beyond our reach. We want to be there for our community and help that community grow, no matter what happens.
With every backpack we give to a child before their first day of school, with every connection made between a student and a staff member they can trust, with every day that kids have somewhere safe, fun, and supportive to go after school, our community becomes a little bit stronger, a little richer, and a little more equitable. Every student should have an equal chance to succeed in school and in life. Our work is to make sure they do.
During this season of giving, you have the chance to be a part of that work. It all starts on #GivingTuesday, the day when we take a break from the shopping frenzy of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and give something back. We hope that you will consider TOGETHER! on this day, and help us reach our goal of raising $5,000 to kick off our year-end campaign!
CS Lewis wrote, “You’re never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Click here to help us dream the dream of a world where all young people are supported, healthy, safe and valued.
A Community School is more than just a building where kids go to learn history and algebra. It’s a place, a partnership, and a state of mind – all at the same time. Community Schools are sites for all kinds of learning and growth: academic, social, emotional and relational. Students at Community Schools learn that they belong in school, where there is a community that cares for them. Their families learn that their participation and engagement in their child’s education is invaluable, and that their school will go the extra mile to get it. Staff at Community Schools learn that they don’t have to work in isolation, but can reach out to community organizations to help them help their students.
So how does it work? It starts with a partnership between a school district and a nonprofit who agree to work together to serve the needs of the students beyond academics, needs ranging from food and clothing to counseling and recovery services to healthcare and transportation. The nonprofit, or lead agency, then reaches out to other community organizations to build partnerships that make a wide array of resources and services as accessible as possible to students in schools. The idea is to weave networks of support that already exist in the community into the life of the school, so that students and families can spend less time worrying about how they’re going to access the services they need to survive and thrive, and more time thinking about their schoolwork.
In 2014, TOGETHER! partnered with Tumwater School District on just such an initiative and now, in our third year, Community Schools has grown to a vital piece of Tumwater’s student support program and, in the 2016-2017 school year, expanded into three high-need elementary schools for the first time. Listed below are just a few of the exciting programs we have developed to serve our students:
If you or your organization are interested in partnering with us, let us know! We are always looking for volunteers to help us fundraise, plan events and keep our resource centers stocked! Here’s who to call:
Arianne Sandel, Michael T. Simmons Elementary, Peter G. Schmidt Elementary, and Black Lake Elementary Community Schools Manager, arianne.sandel@tumwater.k12.wa.us, 360-972-0319 Jennifer Gould, Tumwater Middle School and Black Hills High School Community Schools Manager, Jennifer.gould@tumwater.k12.wa.us, 360-999-0546 Lindsey Bates, Bush Middle School and Tumwater High School Community Schools Manager, lindsey.bates@tumwater.k12.wa.us, 360-742-7083 Cynthia Spencer, AmeriCorps VISTA for Community Schools, cspencer@thurstontogether.org, 360-972-4519