Youth Open Mic Goes Online

Young performers up to age 18 are invited to take part in Friday's online open mic, receive a gift certificate and maybe win free pizza.

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The Social Dilemma Screens Free Online

The Social Dilemma: The Technology That Connects Us Also Controls Us is a new documentary about the link between social media and mental health.

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After 15 Years, Youth Task Force Grows Its Mission
Aaron Wilson

When the Youth Task Force began 15 years ago, programs for teens and children struggling with substance abuse on Martha’s Vineyard were scarce.

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Youth Survey Shows Decrease in Alcohol Use; Marijuana Use on the Rise
Louisa Hufstader

A survey of more than 800 students shows underage drinking on the Vineyard is down, but marijuana use is higher than state and national averages.

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Parents Organize Party After Prom

High school juniors and their prom dates, as well as juniors who aren't going to the event, are welcome to attend the after prom party at the YMCA.

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Youth Task Force Survey Notes Rise in Teen Stress Issues
Ivy Ashe

This year's Youth Task Force survey on behavior risk showed a rise in teen mental health issues. The survey was administered to middle school and high school students in the fall.

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Youth Task Force Calls Island to Act
Theresa Manning

While we all know Martha’s Vineyard youth face unique challenges, great work is being done to ensure that these challenges are being faced head-on. Based on recent surveys, we know that all the way through middle school, our youth are making excellent, healthy choices, at rates higher than national averages. This is the result of community collaborations and the careful, concerted effort of our parents and schools to ensure that our youth are informed, invested and empowered. We are aware that there is much work to be done.

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Youth Task Force Receives Substantial Five Year Grant
Ivy Ashe

The Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force will be able to continue promoting a healthy Island, thanks to a recent grant from the federal Drug Free Communities programs.
Totaling $625,000, to be distributed over a five-year period, the grant enables the Youth Task Force to continue its substance abuse prevention work, co-coordinator Theresa Manning said on Monday. The Youth Task Force was established in 2004 by the Dukes County Health Council after statistics showed substance use among Vineyard youths to be higher on average than state levels.

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Youth Task Force Expansion

The Dukes County Health Council Youth Task Force will expand its services into career counseling for young adults thanks to a three-year grant totaling $212,800 from the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation. The funds will be used to facilitate Project Next, which will provide support to the young adults population on Martha’s Vineyard through a variety of programs and initiatives. The project will begin with a series of focus groups and assessments as well as open office hours to provide financial and career counseling.

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Marijuana Law Worries Youth Leaders
Katie Ruppel

As the Massachusetts Department of Public Health scrambles to write regulations for the medical marijuana law that went into effect Jan. 1, towns are preparing for their own kind of scramble amid the prospect of medical marijuana dispensaries in counties across the state. They don’t have long, Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force coordinator Theresa Manning warned the Dukes County commission this week.

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