KEEPING THE HEAT LOW
By being proactive and fostering a healthy environment for kids in Norwood, we can prevent youth substance use from boiling over into a bigger problem. There are a number of factors (protective factors) at different levels—from the individual to the community—that can keep the heat down for adolescents in Norwood.
+ Community Level
- Physical and mental safety in school, and the community
- Having an appropriate daily structure that include limits, rules, monitoring and predictability
- Supportive relationships with teachers, other school personnel, and adults across the community
- Opportunities to be involved in the community
- Positive social norms, such as expectations and values
- Opportunities for skill building
- Integration of family, school and community efforts
+ Family Level
- Physical and mental safety
- Apprpriate structure. This could mean having clear rules and expectations for youth when it comes to substance use
- Supportive relationships with family members
- Opportunies to belong
- Positive social norms, such as expectations and values
- Opportunities for skill building
- Integration of family, school and community efforts
+ Individual Level
It's important that the community and family help develop the following protective factors at the individual level:
- Positive physical development, meaning healthy habits and risk management skills
- Positive intellectual development in life, school, vocational skills, critical thinking, cultural competence and knowledge
- Positive psychological development, meaning youth have positive self-esteem, coping skills, responsibility, motivation, morals and values
- Positive social development which includes connectedness to peers, family and community and attachement to institutions, such as school or extracurricular activities