2019 Spring McK-UDOS Newsletter

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ADVOCACY


TAKE ACTION! LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
You may have heard about House Bill 1438 was passed in the Senate yesterday.  Today, May 30, it is being voted on in the House to legalize commercial marijuana in Illinois.  
 

We are also asking for coalition members to send a witness slip for the General Assembly.  You can express your own reasons why you are opposed to House Bill 1438. You can also advocate for the communities you serve to do the same.
http://my.ilga.gov/Hearing/HearingDetail/17380?HCommittees5/31/2019-page=1&HCommittees5/31/2019-orderBy=&HCommittees5/31/2019-filter=&committeeid=0&chamber=H&nodays=1&_=1559236102722


Also, LEAD, who serves the Lake Forest, Lake Bluff and Knollwood, IL communities, has created an easy way to send Illinois Senators and Representatives reasons why they should consider the dangers of legalization
https://www.golead.co/act/

Coalition Meeting

On March 14, 2019 we had our coalition meeting.  We had 21 members attend.  Below are the Meeting Minutes:

Called to meeting at 12:05 pm

Presentation by Vernalynne De La Rosa (Program Coordinator): 

MEMBERS PRESENT

  • Ed Boone – Lurie Children’s Hospital
  • Yan Chen – Project Vision Project Coordinator
  • Bianca Craig – IL Army National Guard
  • Cristina DeLaRosa – Erie Neighborhood House
  • Vernalynne De La Rosa – MAHA
  • Ana Diaz de Leon – Pilsen Wellness
  • Shaina Fuller – Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force
  • Dushunda Henderson – Chicago Youth Center Fellowship
  • Hong Liu – Executive Director MAHA  
  • Sandra Oviedo – Pilsen Wellness
  • Gabrielle Nichols - CDPH
  • Omari Prince – Smart Approaches to Marijuana
  • Coco Qiu - Sinovision
  • Sara Reschly – Brighton Park Neighborhood Council
  • Jerry Silva – Gads Hill Center
  • Jason Sollis – Chicago Police Department
  • Sihang Su – VOC Media
  • Sihong Sun – VOC Media
  • Shaneika Tolliver – Erie Neighborhood House
  • Ada Tong – State Rep Theresa Mah
  • Melissa Wee – MAHA   

 
UPDATES 

  • National Drug and Alcohol Fact Week was a success. We provide presentation at Davis Elementary School and  Mark Sheridan Math and Science Academy.  Over 800 students were reached.
  • Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA) Conference. We were able to meet with our senators and congressman to discuss the important work we are doing under the Drug Free Community (DFC) grant.
  • Our volunteers have provided us with mapping schools and the proximity of businesses with liquor license violations, narcotics arrests, assault cases, and battery cases.
  • Communication Campaign is being continued. We would like to have feedback on updating the campaign.  Suggestions from the coalition include putting the percentages on a poster or on a smaller card for easy handout.  Another suggestions also was to keep the statistics the same, because it can become confusing. A coalition member pointed out parents often times provide youth access to alcohol because parents prefer to have the youth at home if they are drinking.
EVENTS 2019 – COALITION BRAINSTORMING
  • The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is still looking to work with community members to continue providing education to schools.  The DEA Chicago has also created a community outreach group. If you are interested in joining, please follow up
  • MAHA Summer Youth Program will happen again this summer from 7/1/19 to 8/9/19.  We will be providing program surrounding art, physical exercise, civic engagement, substance abuse prevention, field trips, and more.  Once we have the flyers, we will be provide the information and start registration.

 
BULLYING AND SUICIDE PREVENTION

  • The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has teamed up with Erie Neighborhood House and Midwest Asian Health Association to address bullying and suicide prevention in Chicago. 
  • Dr. Hong Lui provided a presentation on the statistics on suicide and bullying.  The staff from Erie Neighborhood House introduced themselves and their involvement with the bullying and suicide prevention work. 
  • Ed Boone from Lurie Children’s Hospital reported on the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System. Ed provided information on gun violence. 

 ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • Coalition members provided annoucements for their  respective events. 

Meeting Adjourned at 1:30pm

MAHA Summer Youth Program Enrollment


 MAHA is having its 2nd annual summer youth program from July 1, 2019 to August 9, 2019.  Please pass along the information. 
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COALITION UPDATES

Website
The McK-UDOS website has been revamped its website for easier navigation with new photos from events, updated Illinois Youth Survey information from 2018, our communication campaigns and more. Go and check it outhttp://www.maha-us.org/substance-abuse-prevention-program/

Outreach
We have provided presentations at Burroughs Elementary School, Urban Prep Academy, and Gunsaulus Elementary School.  At Gads Hill Center Pilsen, we have provided an evidence based curriculum to the youth from 5th to 8th grade. There has been positive feedback from students and staff on how the conversations has helped open communication and discussion surrounding the dangers of drugs and the youths' thoughts and experiences. We continue to provide presentations to parents and were invited to Eli Whitney Elementary School to present to their Parent Advisory Council and Bilingual Advisory Council.

The Coalition has also been outreaching at various community events. We were at the 3rd Annual State Representative Theresa Mah Health Fair, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council's 10th annual Health Fair, and Report Card Pick Up at Everett Elementary School and Kelly High School.  We were able to provide education resources to people about the dangers of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs to youth, provide statistics about substance use with youth in the McKinley Park and surrounding area, and answer questions from parents.

Communication 
We continue to work on improving our social media presence.  With the volunteer/interns we have had in the last semester, we have able to be more consistent in our postings.  Please follow us on Twitter  @McKUDOS_chi and Facebook @mckudoscoalition

Training
Thank you to the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council for inviting us to the annual Collective Impact Convening. It was a great week of learning about building a community engagement strategy, supporting a culture for emerging social change leaders, making bold health impacts and more. 

POSITIONS AVAILABLE 

Bilingual AmeriCorps Member

AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. Members commit their time to address critical community needs. Sponsored by the United Way Metropolitan Chicago, Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA) has two AmericCorp positions open for the Navigator Program.

Job Summary: AmeriCorps member works for the Navigator Program by providing assistance to individuals and families in applying for health insurance.

Essential Functions

* Conducting interviews with applicants to help determine eligibility

* Provide one-on-one assistance in person and/or over the phone to facilitate enrollee’s selection of a qualified health plan

* Assist families and individuals in navigating the health insurance system to find the most affordable coverage that meets their needs.

Competencies/Qualifications

* No experience is needed

* Must be committed to a full-time position at 36 hours per week starting Nov. 1, 2018 to Oct. 30, 2019

* Interpersonal Skills: Ability to work with the Chinese population

* Language Skills: Proficiency in English and Chinese verbal communication skills required

Compensation:

* $16,000 per year with health insurance, plus $6,000 educational fund.

If interested, please send a resume to

Kelly Zhen, Program Manager [email protected]

Kelley Mui, Program Supervisor [email protected]

Internship/Volunteer Position

The Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA) has an opening internship for a part-time or full-time intern / volunteer for the McKinley Park Underage Drinking and Other Substance (McKUDOS) Prevention Coalition to begin immediately.

Coalition’s Goal: McK-UDOS is funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program. The coalition’s goal is to prevent and reduce alcohol and marijuana use among youth in Chicago’s McKinley Park neighborhood.

Typical Duties:

  •  Assist in expanding, sustaining, and coordinating a multi-sector coalition in McKinley Park by reaching out to schools, churches and local community organizations.
  • Attend meetings with social service agencies, law enforcement, schools, community-based organizations
  • Write articles to promote coalition prevention efforts and activities to be published on Chicago Tribune’s Community Contributors page, local ethnic newspapers, social media channels.
  • Manage social media channels, including Twitter and Facebook.
  • Assist the coalition in planning prevention activities to meet the aims and objectives of the coalition.
  • Assist in distributing campaign materials (posters, flyers, and brochures) to schools, parents, and community members at events and meetings
  • Communicate /present Illinois Youth Survey (IYS) results and other data related to underage drinking and marijuana use in McKinley Park to public health officials, coalition members, local community leaders, school administrators and teachers, and parents
  • Prepare briefs, reports, policy statements, presentations, and other materials as needed.
  • Carry out project-related administrative responsibilities and perform other duties as required.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

Education: Must be enrolled in university at undergraduate or graduate level, studying public health, journalism, communications, marketing, global health, education, social work or other equivalent equivalent field preferred. Or have a Bachelor’s degree in the above mentioned studies.

Experience and Qualifications:

  • Experience in journalistic writing and social media.
  • Knowledge and professional experience in substance abuse or related fields preferred.
  • Excellent oral and written communications skills, comfortable with public speaking and presentations.
  • Flexible working hours with the ability to work independently.
  • Demonstrated ability to handle multiple tasks.
  • Demonstrated cultural competence and professionalism in the workplace.
  • Experience with Latino and Asian community highly desirable
  • Spanish, Cantonese and Mandarin, speaker highly preferred

Salary Range: This is an unpaid position and can be paired with school credit.  If interested, please email a resume with a cover letter to:

Vernalynne De La Rosa
Program Coordinator
Midwest Asian Health Association (MAHA)
230 W. Cermak, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 60616
Tel: 312-225-8708
[email protected]
www.maha-us.org

NEXT MEETING
Thursday, June 13, 2019 at 12:00pm  - 1:30pm
Midwest Asian Health Association
230 W Cermak Road, 2nd Floor, Chicago, IL 

Please let us know if you have any announcements you would like us to provide for our next meeting and newsletter.arch 14, 2019

Please let us know if you have any announcements you would like us to provide for our next meeting and newsletter.