Category: Blog

Posted on

Teen Night is Back!

Every other Friday night at Vida Del Norte starting June 24th. From 7-10pm.

Located at 62 Highway 38 in Questa

Teen Night at Vida Del Norte offers youth ages 11-18 an opportunity to socialize in a drug, alcohol, and bully-free space.

Youth must check-in and out with a staff member and provide an emergency contact number of a responsible adult.

If you have any questions about Teen Night you can contact Maria Gonzalez @ (575) 779-2260

 

Posted on

Resources for Talking to your Teen about the Dangers of Underage Drinking and Substance Misuse

Research shows that when conversations go up, underage drinking goes down. Since 2003, conversations between parents and kids have increased 73%. During that same period, underage drinking has decreased by 50%.

Here is a list of links to sites that have tips on how to talk to the teens in your life about the dangers of underage drinking and substance misuse. If you have teens in your life, check out these links.

If you find or have a resource about talking to your teens about the dangers of underage drinking and substance misuse please send it to media@vidadelnorte.com so that we can add it to this list.

"Talk. They Hear You."® Campaign
SAMHSA’s national substance use prevention campaign helps parents and caregivers start talking with their children early about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs.
https://www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you

Talk It Out is a site out of North Carolina that has a comprehensive guide for parents with different ways that they can start the conversation about the dangers of underage drinking and substance misuse.
This page can be a key tool every step of the way — from thinking about what to say and how to say it, to keeping the conversation going as your kids get older.
https://www.talkitoutnc.org/starting-the-conversation/

Ask, Listen, Learn is a completely FREE digital underage drinking prevention program for kids ages 9-13 (grades 4-8) and their parents and educators with the goal to reduce underage drinking. The information provided throughout the program guides adults with ways to start communicating with kids about alcohol and the developing brain– and how to continue talking to them as part of a lifetime of conversations.
https://asklistenlearn.org/

Responsibility.org has developed programs and resources to prepare for a lifetime of conversations with kids, teens, college students, and adults of legal drinking age.  Learn more at: https://www.responsibility.org/prevent-underage-drinking

Ready to start a conversation for a child at any age? On Our Sleeves is a site dedicated to children's mental health and has a downloadable guide of conversation starters and tips to help create the habit of talking with your kids about all sorts of topics in effective ways.
https://www.onoursleeves.org

Posted on

Prevention Games, Quizzes and Factsheets

This page contains a list of links to online games, quizzes and factsheets that relate to substance misuse prevention. This list will grow over time. If you have a resource that should be added to this list you can email it to media@vidadelnorte.com.

Online Prevention Games

Drug and Alcohol Jeopardy

An online Jeopardy Style game that can be played as Jeopardy, Flash Cards or Memory and have questions relating to Alcohol, E-cigarettes, Marijuana, other drugs and fun facts.

Games: Drug Use and Effects

Thee games published by the National Institute on Drug Abuse that explore Drug Use and its Effects

Underage Drinking and Tobacco Jeopardy

A Jeopardy Style game about underage drinking and tobacco use that can be played by one player or many teams.

Vaping Jeopardy

A Jeopardy Style game about vaping and the hazards of E-Cigarettes

Trivia and Quiz Sheets that Relate to Substance Misuse and Prevention

Quizzes and Activities Published by TheTruth.com

These are a few quizzes and activities on TheTruth.com that relate to vaping and  are part of the Safer ≠ Safe campaign.

Posted on

Lucky Leprechaun Saint Patrick’s Day Treasure Hunt 2022!


This year the Lucky Leprechaun Saint Patrick's Day Treasure Hunt will start at the Questa Library and the clues will be in the Municipal Park behind the library, around and inside the library. The hunt will be on Thursday, March 17th from 1-5pm. There will also be story time inside the library from 3-5pm. The first clue will be hanging from the bulletin board inside the entrance to the library. Please also take an information card and a compass from the sparkly box that will be under the bulletin board. Also, children must be accompanied by an adult. Please also post any photos that you take during your hunt to your social media with the hashtags #healthyhero and #vidadelnorte 🙂
Have fun and have a safe and happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Posted on

QHS Wildcats Cheer Team Places 2nd in the Spirit of Hope Competition!

The Spirit of Hope Challenge 2022 was held at Expo NM Tingley Coliseum on February 5th 2022. There was a miscount with the scores during the competition and after this was corrected QHS was awarded 2nd place! Three of the members of the QHS Cheer team, Angelica Lovato, Ashlynn Rael and Alianna (AKA The BooBoo) Gonzalez are also active in the Active8 Youth Coalition of Vida Del Norte. Vida Del Norte wants to give a shout out to the entire QHS Cheer team to congratulate them for their remarkable accomplishments. The hard work that the cheer team puts in to practicing, competitions and their studies provides a great example for their peers and Vida Del Norte wants to acknowledge how remarkable this is. Keep up the good work QHS Cheer!

Posted on

February Community Events

Events at Yoga Sala

For more information please visit the Yoga Sala Website
or View the Yoga Sala Newsletter

Dance party, Feb 4, 6:30 p.m.

Ola Sun is hosting a dance party to celebrate Chinese New Year. It's the year of the Tiger! Any questions please contact Ola, olaprimordialsun@gmail.com.


Two hour sound healing journey; rest in meditation supported by live music and comfortable props. Musician Sebastien Marconato plays live for what will be, essentially, a two-hour savasana. You are welcome to bring your own blanket and any props you have, and we will have some for you too. Details and RSVP here.

Live music ~ the romance of cello and piano
Sunday February 13 4:00 p.m.

Posted on

Vida Del Norte Annual Retreat 2022

The Vida Del Norte Annual Retreat is coming up on Saturday the 22 of January from 10-2. We want everyone to know that this retreat is open to the entire community and we would love it if you joined us. Everyone skills and insight can help to prevent substance misuse in our community. Together we can make a difference for the youth! During this retreat we get to know each better, review the goals of Vida Del Norte and come up with planning strategies on how we can work together to have a positive impact on the youth in this area. It will be fun and engaging and there will be snacks and food.
If you can not attend this meeting in person you can also attend via zoom.

The link for the zoom is:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83144115176
The meeting id is: 831 4411 5176

Posted on

Vaping Webinars, Video and Articles

Videos and Webinars

How is Vaping Effecting Teens, Especially during COVID?

Our teens are caught in the crossfire of a war between a massive vaping industry and the public health entities trying to reign them in. We will highlight current teen vaping statistics and the latest policy changes on flavor bans, disposable vapes, and more. Parents, Youth organizers, and Drug-Free Coalition leaders join Dr. Aaron Weiner, a board-certified licensed clinical psychologist and Founder of Bridge Forward Group, who will provide a broad-spectrum analysis of the current state of vaping and implications for our youth’s future.  View original source text on Operation Parent.

Teens, E-Cigarettes and Vaping

This Webinar was published by Operation Parent and is by Dr. Pat Purcell, the Past President of The Kentucky Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. (To view this video you have to fill out a form with your name and email.)

Articles About Vaping

Juuling: The Addictive New Vaping Trend Teens Are Hiding

Here’s what you need to know about Juul, the e-cigarette brand that contains double the nicotine and is vaped from a device that looks like a USB drive.

This is a very informative article published in Yale Medicine about how vaping nicotine effects the developing brain. This article describes the science behind nicotine addiction. Read Article

Posted on

Youth Leadership Webinars, Videos and Resources

How to Empower Youth and Grow Community | Sean Smith | TEDxYouth@Bunbury

This video will expand on why youth can have a very powerful voice in their community and empowering them to know and feel they can. Sean will address the issues of youth representation in the community and government. He aims to nurture the idea that the youth of a community should be a key part of its growth.
Sean, 19, is a Bunbury local and the City of Bunbury Youth Mayor with a passion for getting actively involved in the community and its growth.

Youth Leadership: Empowering the future | Ali Redha Z. Damji | TEDxPristinePrivateSchool


Aliredha Damji, the youth leader of Pristine gives us the recipe that helped him transform from a Bully as he calls himself to a compassionate youth leader. Like a true leader no ones left behind in his recipe ….. ALL are LEADERS

Young Leadership principles - hope and expectations for the future | Sunniva Muren | TEDxStavanger

18 year-old Sunniva Muren lives in Klepp, Rogaland Norway. She is about to finish her second year at Tryggheim upper secondary school in Nærbø.
While the future is all about young people in Sunniva’s generation, her passion and inspiration came from recognizing the value of the knowledge and experience from the generations much older than hers.

The Power of Youth - Changing the World | Sanjana Buddi | TEDxCapeMay

Sanjana Buddi is a senior at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, NJ. Other than her involvement with the non-profit PUREYouth, Sanjana is a varsity tennis player, plays double bass, volunteers at RWJ hospital, and is a Girl Scout working on her gold award, so volunteering has always been a part of her life. With the assistance of PURE, Sanjana is able to work with schools all over the world in makings sure that they get the assistance that they need.

Youth Activism: Activating Your Voice | Hannah Testa | TEDxAlpharettaWomen

Young people are quickly becoming the revolutionaries of today. How can you get involved? Hannah Testa highlights her story as a youth activist and provides steps and advice on speaking out. Hannah Testa is a 17-year-old honors student from Cumming, GA, but she is not an ordinary teen. While she loves her family, friends, and art, she is passionate about issues that affect our planet and she has been using her influence from a young age to educate others, as she believes that “knowledge is power”...

Links to Leadership Games for Youth

Leadership Games for Youth
This article by Michele Meleen describes a number activities that engage youth in mastering useful life skills while playing games

Vida Del Norte Coalition