How to Secure Funding for Community Coalitions

Securing funding for community coalitions is perhaps the single-most challenging aspect coalition leaders face. Creating effective community coalitions is incredibly challenging, but no matter how well-intended and clear a coalition’s vision is, there is little or no action it can take without proper funding.

This begs several questions: How do coalitions get funding? What funding avenues are available? Where can one apply for coalition funding?

Before we get into where potential funding opportunities are found, we first must outline what coalitions need to do to make winning funding opportunities more likely.

Make sure you develop a clear, articulate strategic plan before you begin to apply for grants and other funding avenues. “Without a plan, any mission will fail ultimately for the lack of direction and specific strategies to address a problem,” Shawnee Starling, president of Starling Consultancy wrote. “With a multisectoral approach, a strategic plan will help communicate the needs and solutions to grant funders, stakeholders, and potential donors.”^[1]

We’ve previously written about how best to build strong community coalitions and forming a strategic plan — with a clear mission statement — is vital to the future success of the organization. A concise mission statement allows you to quickly present your vision to potential donors, which is always preferred as time is often limited.

Next, let’s discuss the leadership of your particular coalition. We’re all aware that good, effective leadership is a key driver of success. Perhaps nothing else is as important to the success of any enterprise, be it a for-profit venture or a nonprofit community coalition, then good leadership.

This is why the make-up of your board and its functionality is so important. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, Drs. Mark Feinberg, Daniel Bontempo, and Mark Greenberg wrote that “evidence suggests that board functioning predicts survival, at least in part independently of its influence on funding; and that planning for sustainability predicts sustainability, at least in part independently of overall coalition functioning.”^[2]

The trio studied a specific coalition set in Pennsylvania, and the success rates were staggering. Ninety percent of them continued after initial funding periods, with just 3-8 percent terminating each year after, while nearly two-thirds of the sites continued to operate four years after the termination of the original three-year implementation plan, and many sites attracted funding levels equivalent to or greater than the initial grant. ^[3]

Functional boards matter and anyone interested in creating and sustaining an effective community coalition must understand that because a strong, functional board is more likely to lead to funding success.

Once you set up a rock-solid board, there are several potential funding opportunities. We want to focus on a few of the most trusted avenues, which are federal grants.

Grants.gov and SAMHSA.gov are two websites you need to know about. SAMHSA, or the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It posts funding opportunities — and frequently updates them — on a dedicated page you can find here.

There are specific requirements before being able to apply for a grant, including a required registration for four (4) separate departments — Dun and Bradstreet Number, System for Award Management, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons.^[4] Once you have registered your coalition with these four entities you can then apply for any of the federal grants you deem applicable to your coalition.

That might sound like a lot of hoops to navigate — it is — but it’s well worth the effort as having access to federal grants presents major funding opportunities for community coalitions. Networking and reaching out to potential private donors is something every coalition should do, but not all of us have access to people with the means to help. That’s why ensuring access to federal and other grant opportunities is imperative.

At Pride Surveys, we know how hard it can be to stand up a coalition and sustain it. We’ve been working to help educate community leaders about precisely what’s going on in their student communities for more than 30 years. The data our surveys collects helps determine the direction many coalitions take when aiming to keep communities thriving and moving in a positive direction. If you’re looking for tangible, actionable data directly from the youth community in your area to help strengthen your grant applications, contact us today and we’ll discuss what surveys your community can benefit from.

[1] “How Community Coalitions Can Improve Your Chances of Getting Funded,” Retrieved on July 12, 2019 at https://blog.ecivis.com/building-capacity-how-community-coalitions-are-improving-the-chances-of-federal-funding-awards

[2] “Predictors and Level of Sustainability of Community Prevention Coalitions,” Retrieved on July 20, 2019 at https://www.ajpmonline.org/article/S0749-3797(08)00237-7/fulltext

[3] Ibid

[4] “Funding Opportunity Announcement Applicant Webinar,” Retrieved on July 16, 2019 at https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/applicant-webinar-generic.pdf

How Teens Deal with Anxiety

It is natural for parents to worry about teens and anxiety. Teenagers are under pressure to perform academically to secure admission to the best colleges. Compound that pressure with their changing bodies and navigating a new social landscape and social media. Even the most well-adjusted teens can find their stress becoming a lot to handle.

Some teenage anxiety is a normal natural response to events. For most teenagers, it is short-term, based on specific circumstances, and relatively benign. However, when that anxiety comes too often, out of proportion to events, and begins having a noticeable effect on daily life, it becomes a serious teen and mental health issue.

Experts describe a “rising epidemic” of anxiety in children and teens.^[1] According to the National Comorbidity Survey, 31.9 percent of adolescents aged 13-18 met the criteria for some form of anxiety disorder.^[2] From the total sample of teens, 8.3 percent were suffering from severe anxiety disorders.^[3] Anxiety disorders can hurt academic performance and contribute to substance abuse and other behavioral problems. The effects can last well past graduation. Anxiety was the most common complaint (50.6 percent) of college students seeking university counseling according to a 2015 survey.^[4]

Signs of Anxiety

Some signs of anxiety in teenagers can be physical changes. Teens may feel consistently irritable and restless. Anxiety can disrupt teenagers’ sleep patterns. They may have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up at appropriate times. Teens may complain of chronic fatigue, muscle tension, and headaches. Anxiety can also cause or exacerbate a range of gastrointestinal issues for teenagers. Abrupt changes in appetite and diet could signify a teenager is struggling with anxiety. Excessive and irrational worrying about such symptoms can be an indicator of anxiety as well.

Anxiety can also manifest through changes in a teenager’s behavior. Parents may see their child’s schoolwork decline abruptly. Teens coping with anxiety struggle to concentrate, complete assignments, and remember deadlines. Anxiety can also have a major impact on lives outside of the classroom. Teenagers can withdraw from the world, avoiding social interactions and extracurricular activities they previously enjoyed.

How to Manage Anxiety

A first step for how to manage anxiety is removing the stigma surrounding mental health disorders and anxiety in particular. Even among those suffering, there can be a reluctance to acknowledge and, consequently, treat the problem. World Mental Health surveys showed that only 41.3 percent of the global population meeting the criteria for an anxiety disorder thought they needed care.^[5] Just 27.6 percent of them received any treatment, and only 9.8 percent received “adequate treatment.”^[6]

Teens should understand that their anxiety is not a stain on their individual character or capability. Suffering from an anxiety disorder is not making excuses or a sign of weakness. It’s not a normal thing that everyone deals with. An anxiety disorder is a serious mental health issue, but one that can be resolved with treatment. Parents should also understand that their child’s anxiety may not be a product of his or her home life and upbringing.

Mental health professionals can be a major help to teenagers suffering from anxiety disorders. They can provide teenagers with cognitive behavioral therapy. This therapy tries to instill positive thinking patterns and to provide teens with tools to help manage their stressors rationally and healthily. Mental health professionals can also prescribe medication to aid teenagers with more severe anxiety disorders. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are common antidepressants that can help reduce anxiety with minimal side effects.

Teenagers can also help control their anxiety by focusing on their general physical health and wellness. Regular exercise and a consistent sleep schedule can help reduce anxiety. So can eating a better quality diet with nutrient-rich foods. Teens can try several different relaxation techniques, including yoga, meditation, and deep breathing. Merely setting aside a short 20-minute period each day to wind down and rest can be helpful.

Even teens who remain glued to their smartphones can sample a myriad of different mindfulness apps. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America vetted many of them.^[7] These offer short meditations and other techniques that may help teenagers mollify their stress and anxiety.

Anxiety isn’t abnormal, per se. We all deal with it in some form or fashion but leaving signs of anxiety unanswered can lead to more severe issues. Talk to your teens and tweens about their feelings. One of the best ways to gain insight into how your teens and tweens are managing their own anxiety is to ask them. This is another benefit to working with a company like Pride Surveys.

We have years of experience working with community coalitions and local leaders — in schools, churches, and other organizations — to get a better understanding of the challenges and stresses our teens and tweens face in today’s world. Please browse our selection of surveys to learn more about what we offer and why it’s important to gain these insights directly from our teens and tweens.

^[1] “The Rising Epidemic of Anxiety in Children and Teens” Retrieved 12 June 2019 at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/liking-the-child-you-love/201601/the-rising-epidemic-anxiety-in-children-and-teens

^[2] “Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in U.S. Adolescents: Results from The National Comorbidity Student-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A)} Retrieved 11 June 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2946114/

^[3] Ibid.

^[4] “The Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors Annual Survey” Retrieved 12 June 2019 at https://www.aucccd.org/assets/documents/aucccd%202016%20monograph%20-%20public.pdf

^[5] “Treatment gap for anxiety disorders is global: Results of the World Mental Health Surveys in 21 Countries.” Retrieved 12 June 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29356216

^[6] Ibid.

^[7] “ADAA Reviewed Mental Health Apps.” Retrieved 13 June 2019 at https://adaa.org/finding-help/mobile-apps

Why Community Coalitions Should Partner with Youth Sports Organizations

Community coalitions are in a constant battle for attention among people within the coalition’s footprint. People live busy lives between work, family commitments, and any bit of free time they can manage, which makes it hard to get people to take the time needed to learn about what your community coalition is doing in the area.

According to Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, a coalition is a voluntary, formal agreement and collaboration between groups or sectors of a community in which each group retains its identity, but all agree to work together toward a common goal of building a safe, healthy, and drug-free community.

America’s teenage community is under intense mental strain. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition and 11 % of youth have a mood disorder.[1]

The driving force of these statistics varies — social media use among teens, the pressure to succeed in schools, etc. —but the fact remains that one in five teenagers in America lives with a mental health condition. Community coalitions are on the front lines of the fight against the dangerous effects these conditions have on our teens.

Community coalitions are comprised of parents, teachers, law enforcement, businesses, religious leaders, health providers and other community activists who are mobilizing at the local level — and nationally under the CADCA umbrella — to make their communities safer, healthier and drug-free.[2]

As non-profit organizations, community coalitions are full of volunteers working under often incredibly tight budgets, meaning they have to be creative and highly efficient with any amount of resources at their disposal.

Targeting events or organizations where a large group of interested parties attends is the goal, but where would that be? What event — or group of events — is a consistent draw for engaged parents, local business leaders, and a diverse group of people?

The answer could be youth sports events. Think about it. As a community coalition, you want to have a consistent message that you can deliver directly to the source (parents and teens and tweens). What is a more consistent venue than youth sports complexes in your community? Whether it’s a church basketball league, youth soccer club, or anything in between, what you’ll find at these venues is a group of involved parents or guardians from your community and a large group of teens and tweens. To put it simply: the exact group you’re looking to engage and influence in a positive manner.

Community coalitions are looking for a receptive audience for its messaging, and youth sports leagues can provide that on a consistent basis. Youth sports leagues are often struggling for funding. In fact, between 2009 and 2011, $3.5 billion — yes, billion with a “b” — was cut from sports programs around the country.[3]

This cut in funding has a real impact on teens and tweens participating in youth sports. From 2011 to 2017, team or individual sport participation has declined by nearly 4%, with a larger decline in the percentage of kids who regularly participated in high-calorie-burning sports (28.7% to 23.9%). [4]

If your community coalition has available funding in might want to look into donating to various local youth sports organizations. That decision could create partnerships with sports leagues within your community, enabling your coalition to promote your message in front of a target audience. This kind of funding also acts as a key driver to a healthier, more vibrant community, which is typically part of every community coalition’s mission.

Weaving your coalition’s message into the fabric of youth sports allows a diverse set of your community’s citizens to experience your organization provided you space out which sports your target. Getting your message in front of parents who — by the very nature of them attending youth sports events – are more inclined to be engaged and willing listeners is a smart way to drive your message directly to the people you most want to listen: Parents and teenagers.

Navigating the oft-troubled waters of teenage health and wellness is an immense challenge. Being consistent and on-message with your local teenage community is paramount to maintaining a healthy, drug-free group, but knowing what message resonates can be a challenge. That’s why Pride Surveys can be a vital tool in your toolbox. We can customize surveys that get direct, honest feedback from teenagers themselves. This data is vital for community coalitions, interested organizations, and parents alike.

Please browse our selection of available surveys and don’t hesitate to call our team to discuss your needs and how we can assist your community coalition in better understanding your teenage community.

[1] “The Effects of Team Sports on Mental Health in Adolescents,” Retrieved on June 14, 2019, at https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1065&context=pes_synthesis

[2] “Join or Start a Coalition,” Retrieved on June 13, 2019, at https://www.cadca.org/join-or-start-coalition

[3] “Going, Going, Gone: The Decline of Youth Sports,” Retrieved on June 16, 2019, at https://playballfoundation.org/going-going-gone-the-decline-of-youth-sports/

[4] “State of Play 2018: Trend and Developments,” Retrieved on June 20, 2019, at https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/2018/10/StateofPlay2018_v4WEB_2-FINAL.pdf

How Do You Build a Strong Community Coalition?

While there are many ways to help a community thrive, one of the more effective strategies for sustaining a healthy community is to build a strong community coalition. The reason behind this is due to what’s inherent in every effective community coalition: buy-in.

A coalition is a voluntary, formal agreement and collaboration between groups or sectors of a community in which each group retains its identity, but all agree to work together toward a common goal.[1] Coalitions bring together leaders from every sector of the community — education, business, religious, nonprofit, and more — to come up with a holistic plan to influence outcomes on a specific problem — drug use among the youth, for example.

Knowing the problem or issue you want to focus on is the first step in building a community coalition. Once you’ve identified the issue, then the actual creation and implementation of a community coalition begins.

Outline Your Mission

Once you’ve identified a problem, how is your soon-to-be coalition going to help solve it? What’s your mission, exactly? A good community coalition mission statement allows you to quickly convey your goals to potential members, beneficiaries, or funders.

“In order to build a community coalition that will function as a unified whole, members must be committed to the coalition’s mission. A well-written mission statement will let new members know precisely what type of alliance they are joining and what they will be expected to support.” [2]

A community coalition’s mission will drive nearly every decision it makes. Don’t assume the mission statement is something to brush off or will take little effort in crafting. It matters.

Knowing Who Should Be Involved

One of the first steps in actually building a strong community coalition is to know who should be at the table. Not everyone needs to be included, but not having the right people will doom your coalition from the beginning.

“Coalitions with less diverse membership may communicate and work more quickly because members’ objectives may be more alike. These coalitions, however, may be weaker in their ability to comprehend other factors that contribute to the problem that lay beyond the purview of their member organizations.”[3]

One major aspect of a strong community coalition is its sustainability. Can the coalition remain intact and working to solve the initial problem? We can never predict the future, but thanks to a study commissioned by the federal government, we do have some common characteristics of strong community coalitions that have staying power.

“The results of this study are consistent with others indicating that strong leadership has a direct and positive influence on the sustainability of coalitions. Sustained coalitions were more likely than not sustained coalitions to have a Board of Directors (60% compared to 26%, p<.10).”[4]

Promote and Share Your Work

We live busy lives and have a difficult time staying up to date on local issues. Don’t be afraid to share the work your coalition is doing with those within the community. Too often good work done via a strong community coalition goes unnoticed in large part due to the coalition not informing the public.

“Even those who are not members of the coalition can provide useful information and assistance at coalition meetings, hearings, rallies, fundraisers, media events, community forums, and other gatherings. These types of interactions are great opportunities for the coalition to share information, exchange ideas, and strengthen its bonds with the community.”[5]

Leveraging local media outlets and other community leaders — even those not taking part in your coalition — has a lasting effect on the impact your coalition is doing. Never forget that.

Get the Data You Need to Help Make Decisions

Most successful community coalitions have access to great data. At Pride Surveys, we can help provide your community vital data directly from those who need your coalition’s help.

The benefit of working with a survey company for community coalitions is that we can gather necessary information through anonymous and effective survey tools to go beyond subjective information to fact-backed data. With this information, coalitions are in a better position to secure future funding from a variety of sources.

Pride Surveys has been partnering with community coalitions for the last thirty years and has a wealth of experience in helping coalitions work with schools and community members to get the data that they need. Find out why more coalitions, including multiple “CADCA Coalitions of the year,” trust Pride Surveys for their data collection over any other survey company. Reach out and contact us with any questions you have about who we are and what we do at 800-279-6361.

[1] “Join or Start a Community Coalition.” Retrieved 22 May 2019 at https://www.cadca.org/join-or-start-coalition

[2] “Strength in Numbers: A Guide to Building Community Coalitions.” Page 9. Retrieved on 22 May 2019 at https://www.communitycatalyst.org/doc-store/publications/strength_in_numbers_a_guide_to_building_community_coalitions_aug03.pdf

[3] “Developing Effective Coalitions.” Page 9. Retrieved on 22 May 2019 at http://www.preventioninstitute.org/publications/developing-effective-coalitions-eight-step-guide

[4] “An Assessment of the Sustainability and Impact of Community Coalitions once Federal Funding has Expired.” Page 9. Retrieved on 22 May 2019 at https://aspe.hhs.gov/system/files/pdf/76601/rpt.pdf

[5] “Strength in Numbers: A Guide to Building Community Coalitions.” Page 12. Retrieved on 22 May 2019 at https://www.communitycatalyst.org/doc-store/publications/strength_in_numbers_a_guide_to_building_community_coalitions_aug03.pdf

Social Media Use Among Teens: The Good, Bad, & Ugly

Social media is revolutionizing the way we communicate, obtain information, think, and form communities. Because platforms are relatively new and ever-evolving, the societal and psychological effects of social media are manifesting faster than research can digest them. Teenagers, the most avid social media using cohort, face particular risks. Social media may be affecting not just their present but their future in ways we have only just started assessing.

Social media use among teens is quite prevalent. A 2018 Pew Research Center survey^[1] noted that 95 percent of U.S. teenagers aged 13-17 had access to a smartphone and more than two-thirds of them reported having Instagram and Snapchat accounts. Nearly half the teenage population, 45 percent, described themselves as being online “almost constantly.”

Parents can have a hard time monitoring and understanding social media. Some parents have a technological deficit compared to their digitally native teenagers, which can make filtering Internet content nearly impossible. Even Internet-savvy parents can’t devote the time and energy to keep up with an always changing social media landscape the way a teenager can. Following children on social media is one thing. Comprehending the extent to which social media may be shaping them is quite another.

Is social media good or bad for teens? There’s no simple answer. There are some benefits of social media usage for teenagers. Social media can help foster creativity and individuality that may be tough for some teens to express in person. Social media can help children pursue their interests and both encounter and become accepting of greater diversity. Social media also can help teenagers rally around social causes and engage with their local communities. There are ways to use social media as a classroom tool for instruction and collaboration.

But there are also significant dangers of social media with unknown long-term effects. Excessive social media use can create a myriad of problems. It can show many of the signs of behavioral addiction including relapses and withdrawal. 72 percent of teenagers check for social media messages as soon as they wake up and 57 percent reported trying to curtail their social media usage.^[2]

There may be mental consequences of spending an excessive amount of time on social media. It is significantly altering the life experience and social structures for teenagers who are at a crucial point in their intellectual and social development. Social media may also be having a physical effect. Too much smartphone usage can lead to poor posture and respiratory problems.^[3]

Social media may be linked with depression in teenagers. Incidents of depression have spiked among young people over the past two decades. The rate of children age 12-17 reporting a major depressive episode within the past year jumped 52 percent (8.3 percent to 13.2 percent) from 2005 to 2017.^[4] That same trend did not show up in adults 26 or older where it was found to be “weak or nonexistent”. Researchers have noted a “positive association” between depression and frequent social media usage.^[5]

Depression in youth can have a dramatic impact on a teenager’s future. Depression can lead to poorer academic and professional achievement and be a drain on future earnings. Depression can also harm the forming of personal relationships and increase the risk of substance abuse.

Social media users create carefully curated versions of their life and physical appearance. Conflating the curated versions with reality can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and fear of missing out. Social media can also create unhealthy body image feedback among both women and men. The most frequent social media users among young adults are more than two times as likely to develop eating concerns.^[6]

Teenagers may struggle to grasp the consequences of their digital footprint. With still-developing brains, teenagers can be prone to risky behavior and exhibit poor impulse control. Those issues can be problematic on social media. The mode of communication on those platforms is personal, which fosters the illusion of an intimate space. In reality, social media can be painfully public.

Teens may share inappropriate material or make ill-advised comments on social media sites, which stay online as a permanent record. Poor, spur of the moment decisions can linger to haunt teens as they apply to colleges and apply for jobs. Unwitting sharing of personal information on social media can also leave teens vulnerable to online predators who can exploit the anonymity many social media platforms provide.

Knowing how your community’s teenagers are utilizing social media — for good or ill — is important. At Pride Surveys, we understand that your school is a one-of-a-kind learning environment that, while it may share characteristics and similarities with other schools, is unique at its core. That’s why we offer a variety of options for custom school surveys to meet your school’s needs and address your specific goals and challenges.

^[1] “Teens, Social Media, & Technology 2018” Accessed 13 May 2019 at https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/

^[2] “How Teens and Parents Navigate Screen Time and Device Distractions” Accessed 16 May 2019 at https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/08/22/how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/

^[3] “The Effect of Smartphone Usage Time on Posture and Respiratory Function” Accessed 16 May 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756000/

^[4] “Age, Period, and Cohort Trends in Mood Disorder Indicators and Suicide Related Outcomes in a Nationally Representative Dataset, 2005–2017” Accessed 14 May 2019 at https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/abn-abn0000410.pdf

^[5] “Association between Social Media Use and Depression among U.S. Young Adults” Accessed 14 May 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4853817/

^[6] “The Association between Social Media Use and Eating Concerns among U.S. Young Adults” Accessed 15 May 2019 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003636/

How Homelessness Impacts Students and How We Can Help

The U.S. Department of Education defines homeless students as those who “lack a fixed, regular, and nighttime residence.” For the 2015-16 school year, there were more than 1.3 million public school students^[1] classified as homeless in the United States, about 2.6% of the total public school student population. Nearly 18% of those underprivileged students, numbering more than 232,000, suffer from disabilities. The number of homeless students detected has increased by 70% over the past decade.^[2]

Challenges Homeless Students Face

Homelessness places extraordinary internal stress on students of all ages. Basic food, survival, and economic needs become persistent worries. Chronic instability and mobility add their own pressure. Students may be exposed to trauma, mistreatment, substance abuse, and health risks as well.

Younger students may suffer from cognitive and behavioral development issues as a result of homelessness. Only 30% of homeless students reached academic proficiency in reading and 25% in mathematics.^[3] Childcare, work, and other responsibilities may burden older students, preventing them from completing school work. Only 64% of homeless students graduate high school, compared to 84% of all students.^[4]

Problems with teen bullying and cyberbullying are well documented. Homeless students can be vulnerable to many different forms of school bullying. Other students may bully homeless students about the state of their clothing over social media which can compound already prevalent attendance problems.^[5] Students subject to discrimination about their race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation face a particular risk in the school climate. Non-sheltered homeless students reported discriminatory bullying at a rate (52.7%) more than twice as frequent as general students.^[6]

Homeless students face a greater risk of involvement in school violence. Non-sheltered homeless students reported a rate of weapon involvement (60.3%) more than five times the rate of non-homeless students in student surveys. Seventy-seven percent of non-sheltered homeless students reported behavioral victimization, measurable instances of violence, in school.^[7]

Being homeless may harm students’ mental health. The statistics from school surveys suggest more than 80% of homeless students may have at least one psychiatric disorder, a rate four times that of the general population.^[8] At the same time, homeless students face an array of logistical, economic, and social barriers to obtaining adequate mental healthcare.

How to Spot Homeless Students

Parents and students may hide their homeless status and miss out on potential aid available to them. Schools and teachers may ascertain the problem through telltale signs.

Appearance: Homeless students may wear unclean clothing, have gone a long time without a haircut, or have unaddressed health, dental, and hygiene issues.

Attendance: Homeless students may have trouble getting to and from school. Extended or recurrent absences, repeated tardiness, and frequently missed assignments could be indicators. Homeless students may also have a long list of attended schools or lack appropriate paperwork.

Behavior: Homeless students may signal their homeless status indirectly. They may carry a backpack full of non-school-related personal items or hoard food that is distributed. Students may also reference changes in their living conditions or respond elusively to questions about their home life.

How to Help Homeless Students

Schools should approach homeless students and their families with a firm understanding of their legal rights and educational needs. They can provide students and their families with information about federal aid programs they may be eligible for, such as those providing temporary housing and subsidized school lunches. They can also inform families about available tutoring and local after-school programs. Schools can also take steps to ensure that a student’s basic needs are met. Those could range from providing healthy snacks to helping a student find shower and laundry facilities.

Teachers should offer a welcoming environment. They can perform educational assessments and form an educational plan with help from a school counselor. They can check in with students themselves, enlist other students to help new students settle in, and make sure they are not singled out in any way. Teachers can communicate rules and expectations clearly and make sure not to hold homeless students accountable for factors beyond their control.

Teachers — and other adults in leadership positions — can only help homeless students if they’re aware they exist. That means paying close attention to the students, asking the right questions, and listening intently to the answers. Since 1980, Pride Surveys has been doing just that. By tapping directly into the source — our students — we’re able to get a better understanding of the challenges they face, be it homelessness, bullying, mental health issues, drug abuse, and more.

Please browse through the different types of student surveys we offer and find out why more than 14 million students, parents, and faculty members have responded to Pride Surveys. Questions? Please call us today at 800-279-6361 or fill out our quick online contact form.

^[1] “Homeless students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools, by grade, primary nighttime residence, and selected student characteristics: 2009-10 through 2015-16” Retrieved 9 April 2019 at https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d17/tables/dt17_204.75a.asp

^[2] “Number of Homeless Students Soars” Retrieved 15 April 2019 https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Federal-Data-Summary-SY-14.15-to-16.17-Final-Published-2.12.19.pdf

^[3] “Federal Data Summary School Years 2014-15 to 2016-17: Education for Homeless Children and Youth” Retrieved 15 April 2019 at https://nche.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Federal-Data-Summary-SY-14.15-to-16.17-Final-Published-2.12.19.pdf

^[4] “Report: Homeless Students Less Likely to Graduate Than Other Low-Income Children” Retrieved 9 April 2019 at https://www.americaspromise.org/report/hidden-plain-sight

^[5] “Students were bullied because of dirty clothes. Washing machines in the locker room will change that.” Retrieved 9 April 2019 at https://www.nj.com/essex/2018/08/students_were_bullied_because_of_dirty_clothes_a_p.html

^[6] “Study Snapshot: School Violence and Victimization Among School-Attending Homeless Youth as Compared With Their Non-Homeless Peers” Retrieved 9 April 2019 at https://www.aera.net/News/News-Releases-and-Statements/Study-Snapshot-School-Violence-and-Victimization-Among-School-Attending-Homeless-Youth-as-Compared-With-Their-Non-Homeless-Peers

^[7] “Study Snapshot: School Violence and Victimization Among School-Attending Homeless Youth as Compared With Their Non-Homeless Peers” Retrieved 11 April 2019 at https://www.aera.net/News/News-Releases-and-Statements/Study-Snapshot-School-Violence-and-Victimization-Among-School-Attending-Homeless-Youth-as-Compared-With-Their-Non-Homeless-Peers

^[8] “Behavioral Health among Youth Experiencing Homelessness” Retrieved 11 April 2019 at https://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/in-focus-behavioral-health-among-youth.pdf

The Importance of Finding a Mentor in High School

Navigating the oft-troubled waters of high school is a challenging time for all of us. As our youth enters this new phase, they’re dealt with new challenges, more responsibility, and a rapidly changing environment. Even with the most engaged parental support in place, things fall through the cracks. High school students often don’t want to or are uncomfortable with opening up to their parents about issues they face.

A mentor can help bridge the gap between what high school students discuss at home and with their peers and what they need to be discussing to better position themselves for the future.

Mentors can help ensure students get on a positive path toward learning and growing emotionally as a person. Mentorship coming within the school structure has shown an amazing ability to help place students into college, so much so that for disadvantaged students, mentorship by a teacher nearly doubled the odds of attending college, while having a mentor meant a 50% greater likelihood of attending college for all teen students. [1]

Those numbers are certainly impressive, but when you think about what a mentor is and how students interact with them, they shouldn’t come as a major surprise. Mentors are, first and foremost, advocates for the students, acting as part cheerleader and part coach.

A good mentor pushes a student in ways parents and teachers are often unable to, thus providing another layer of positive leadership on their behalf. While most students will benefit from an engaged mentor, disadvantaged students — lower-income, those lacking a stable home environment, etc. — are especially benefitted by mentorship programs.

According to a study from the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health and Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada, mentored boys are two times more likely to believe that school is fun and that doing well academically is important, while disadvantaged students who use a mentor attend college at nearly double the rate of those same students who do not. [2]

As a society, we’re always looking to open avenues to a better future for disadvantaged youth. Mentorship is one of the most effective ways of opening those exact pathways, and the proof is in the pudding.

A University of Georgia study on the importance of mentorship for African-American teens who’ve suffered hardships is more evidence to the effectiveness of a mentor. The 2011 study found that behaviors such as anger, breaking the law, and substance abuse were reduced when informal mentors provided support and helped them learn to deal with adult problems. [3]

One of the most powerful effects a mentor can have on a teenager is keeping them engaged in school. One of the biggest educational problems we face in America is keeping students in school. One in four public school children drop out before finishing high school, with those numbers being far worse for African-American and Hispanic students, where 35% aren’t graduating on time.[4]

Those students most likely to drop out of high school are often the same students who lack positive role models inside or outside of the home. According to MENTOR: The National Mentoring Program, “at-risk” youth who have access to mentors enroll in college 55% more than those who don’t, volunteer regularly at a rate of 78%, and want to be mentors themselves 9/10 times.[5]

The power of mentorship is real, and the success of high school students who engage with a mentor is proof they work. Having access to a trusted adult to bounce ideas off, vent frustration, and to ask tough questions builds character and emotional intelligence in teenagers. If you or someone you know is looking for a mentor (or to become a mentor) you can start by vising the National Mentoring Partnership.

Since 1980, Pride Surveys has been providing research-quality data for schools and communities to study student mental health and behavior. Understanding this information better informs mentors to the most pressing needs in their community. Is bullying prevalent and in need of push back from the mentors in the area? Is drug use something that should be top of mind for them when meeting with mentees? Pride Surveys can help deliver this information to those who need it.

Our Social, Emotional and Bullying Behavior Survey collects data that assess middle school problem behaviors that affect student engagement. Using SEBBS, schools can determine the underlying causes of increased absenteeism, lower academic achievement, and increased substance abuse. The Pride Learning Environment Survey is also recommended as a student evaluation tool for grades 6-12 because of its powerful reporting system and examination of current issues in education such as student mental health, bullying, teen suicide, student learning and more.

The benefit of working with a survey company is that we can gather fact-based data and information through anonymous and effective survey tools. With this information, educators, parents, PTAs and coalitions are in a better position to fight bullying and secure future funding from a variety of sources to support their programs.

[1] “Benefit of a Mentor: Disadvantaged Teens Twice As Likely to Attend College.” Retrieved April 2019 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104161837.htm

[2] “Youth Mentoring Leads to Many Positive Effects, New Study Shows.” Retrieved April 2019 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130115143850.htm

[3] “Youth-Mentor Relationships Particularly Helpful for Those Experiencing Hardships.” Retrieved April 2019 at https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/05/110512171527.htm

[4] “The Stats,” Retrieved April 2019 at https://www.youthmentor.org/thestats

[5] Ibid.

Why Teens Develop a Negative Body Image and How to Help Them Avoid it

At a point in every teenager’s life, they will feel insecure or even ashamed of their own body. Even grown adults struggle with adopting a healthy mindset toward their body image. While there are a lot of proactive messages supporting body positivity among teens, the facts remain that teen body angst is still a profound issue. By the age of 6, for example, girls begin expressing concerns about their weight or shape. As much as 60% of girls between the ages of 6-12 are concerned about their weight.[1]

How does this happen? What is leading our children to feel this way? Is the modern media landscape fueling it? Is teen bullying to blame? Unfortunately, there isn’t one reason, and as with most large-scale demographic trends, it’s multiple things. Some forces, however, are more impactful than others.

The Media’s Effect on Teen Body Perception

Currently, in the United States, as many as 10% of young women suffer from an eating disorder.[2] The average height and weight for a model is 5-foot-10, 110-pounds, respectively. The average height and weight for all other women is 5-foot-4, 145 pounds.[3] Based on what children see on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or even television, the perceived “normal” of what people look like is heavily skewed.

Skinny is perceived as beautiful, and girls say the pictures they see in the media influence their concept of the ideal body shape at a rate of 69%.[4]

The good news is the advertising community is beginning to take responsibility and put forth campaigns and images that show real girls with athletic or healthy bodies. Recently, companies like Dove and Nike have been making a point to promote body positivity through their messaging both online and offline.

In the social media environment, girls often follow specific “influencers” on platforms like YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. Influencers are the new celebrities, and according to the Pew Research Center, 71% of 13-17-year-olds use Facebook, 52% use Instagram, and 41% use Snapchat. These modern-day celebrities are reaching teens at all times on multiple platforms thanks to today’s advances in technology. Researchers also suggest that adolescent girls and young women following fitness boards on a platform like Pinterest were more likely to report intentions to engage in extreme weight-loss behaviors, such as crash dieting or a radical exercise plan.[5]

Social media influencers wield vast amounts of power over the physical and mental state of children, yet it seems they’re unwilling to take necessary precautions to present body positivity in healthy ways.

Bullying and Body Image

Approximately 40% of higher-weight kids are teased about their weight by peers or family members.[6] Targets of verbal bullying based on weight — sometimes referred to as weight teasing ‑— can experience many negative consequences, including a change in body perception.

Weight stigma poses a significant threat to teens’ mental and physical health. As many as 65% of people with eating disorders say bullying contributed to their condition.[7] Teens teased about their body weight are also likely to avoid physical activities at school, like gym class or sports.[8] With ever-increasing access to smartphones, cyberbullying has become an evolving epidemic, with more teens succumbing to depression, anxiety, which can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.

How to Help Your Teen’s Body Image

There are ways to help combat against teenagers feeling negatively toward their bodies. Here are a few tips:

-Educate your teen about advertising tropes and why they’re inaccurate.
-Discuss how photos of models are altered and airbrushed, distorting reality.
-Talk to them about the health risks of being too thin.
-Know your teen’s social media activities and the accounts they follow.
-Expose teens to positive role models or athletes that support and endorse healthy body types.
-Educate teenagers on nutrition-related topics and talk about the dangers of extreme dieting.
-Sign them up for sports or physical activities.
-Encourage your child not to compare themselves to their peers.

Getting Quality, Useful Information from the Source

Knowing how teenagers view their bodies and how it ties to their self-esteem is a challenge. It’s not something most teens want to discuss with anyone, let alone adults. But what if there was a way to get them to open up as a group? Knowing what to ask — and how to ask it — is difficult. The good news is there are resources available to help.

Pride Surveys has provided research-quality data for schools and communities since 1980. We gather fact-based data and information through anonymous and useful survey tools, which allows community leaders to understand better how teenagers are coping with the stresses they experience. With this information, educators, parents, PTAs, and other community organizations are in a better position to secure future funding from a variety of sources to support their programs and better their local community.

Our Pride Survey for Grades 6-12 is our longest-running and most popular survey, with more than 8 million respondents over the last 35 years. This comprehensive questionnaire for students collects data regarding alcohol, tobacco, and drug use, discipline problems at and outside of school, personal information, academic achievement, family life, and more. Using a student behavior and school climate survey, we have been able to track significant longitudinal data and trends, and have released multiple national data sets, allowing our customers to compare their area against national trends.

Please browse through our portfolio of student surveys and find out why more than 14 million students, parents, and faculty members have responded to Pride Surveys. If you have any questions on our process or how these surveys work, please call us today at 800-279-6361 or fill out our quick online contact form.

[1] “Bullying and Weight Shaming.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bullying-weight-shaming

[2] “Eating Disorders in Teens.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.aacap.org/aacap/families_and_youth/facts_for_families/FFF-Guide/Teenagers-With-Eating-Disorders-002.aspx

[3] “The Media and Your Teen’s Body Image.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.verywellmind.com/body-image-issues-teens-and-the-media-2609236

[4] “Bullying and Weight Shaming.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bullying-weight-shaming

[5] “Selfie-Esteem: The Relationship Between Body Dissatisfaction and Social Media in Adolescent and Young Women.” Retrieved March 2019 at http://www.in-mind.org/article/selfie-esteem-the-relationship-between-body-dissatisfaction-and-social-media-in-adolescent

[6] “Bullying and Eating Disorders.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bullying

[7] “Bullying and Eating Disorders.” Retrieved March 2019 at https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/bullying

[8] “Weight-based Teasing and Bullying in Children: How Parents Can Help.” Retrieved on March 2019 at https://www.healthychildren.org/english/health-issues/conditions/obesity/pages/teasing-and-bullying.aspx

How Opioids Work and What They do to Teenagers

We used this space to educate and inform community leaders, parents, and teenagers about how drugs affect teenage bodies. We’ve done the same for alcohol, as well. Now we want to break out and specifically discuss the greatest drug threat in America today: Opioids.

You’ve most likely heard about opioids in the news, and sadly many of you probably know someone who has dealt with the devastating effects in America’s ongoing battle against opioid addiction and abuse.

In 2012, there were 467,000 people in the United States addicted to heroin, a powerful street opioid, yet in the same year, more than 2 million Americans were abusing opioid painkillers.[1]

This tracks with the general trend in the United States, writ large, as 2017 saw a 10% increase in overall drug overdose deaths, as more than 70,000 Americans died in from a drug-related overdose that year.[2]

Unfortunately, the trend line for opioid use among teenagers — as well as the mortality rate — is only getting worse. In a 2018 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers found, “Over 18 years, nearly 9,000 children and adolescents died from opioid poisonings, and the mortality rate increased nearly 3-fold.”[3]

Understanding Why Teens Use Drugs

Before we dive into what happens to teenagers when they use opioids, we first must understand why teens might reach for drugs in the first place.

Our teenage years are challenging in many ways, both physically and mentally. The rapid ascent toward adulthood is in constant combat with the whims of youth, which often leads to poor decision making.

This internal battle often leads to teenagers looking for an escape from the pressures they face. Sometimes this escape is entirely innocent, like a book or a movie. Other times, however, it can lead to drug use.

As for why this happens, we can thank biology for the rate at which our brains develop. According to the Partnership for Drug Free Kids, “The part of the brain that controls reasoning and impulses — known as the prefrontal cortex — is near the front of the brain and, therefore, develops last. This part of the brain does not fully mature until the age of 25.”[4]

Parents and mentors need to understand why teenagers are susceptible to falling into drug use. Staying active in their lives by asking questions about their thoughts and feelings keeps teenagers engaged and less likely to seek refuge in illicit drugs, while simultaneously keeping parents and mentors involved, as well.

Why are Opioids so Addictive?

The science behind opioids —prescription painkillers, heroin, fentanyl — is a large reason why we’re facing an epidemic of abuse and addiction in America. These drugs are powerful, and they impact the brain in ways it wants us to replicate, which necessitates an increased dosage.

Opioids attach to pain receptors on nerve cells in your brain and your body, essentially turning them off for a period of time. This is why they were first invented, as a way of managing severe pain from injury or a medical procedure.

“Opioids can make your brain and body believe the drug is necessary for survival,” according to the American Association of Anesthesiologists. “As you learn to tolerate the dose you’ve been prescribed, you may find that you need even more medication to relieve the pain — sometimes resulting in addiction.”[5]

When you no longer trip those impulses in the brain, the brain, and the body take over and push you back toward the opioid, leading to addiction.

The Impact of Opioid Addiction on Teenagers

Once addicted, overuse of opioids — legal or illicit — begin to break our bodies down. Infections in the heart lining can occur, while respiratory depression can lead to slowed breathing, which is potentially fatal.[6]

Abusing opiates can also weaken your immune system, leading to a greater chance of falling ill to viruses your body would otherwise be able to ward off.[7]

Talk to Your Teenagers and Look Out for Signs of Drug use

Parents and mentors of teenagers need to understand the signs of opioid and other drug use as well as how prevalent their use may be within the community writ large. Because of the risk factors that go along with drug use, any type of drug can be harmful to the body, whether it is misuse of prescribed medications or illicit substances.

Pride Surveys developed its Risk and Protective Factor (RPF) student perception survey, a hybrid version of the Communities That Care (CTC) Youth Survey and the Pride Questionnaire for Grades 6 to 12 to measure the risk factors that show the strongest correlation to drug use. It contains the Core Measures required by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for their Drug-Free Communities Grant that went into effect February 2013 and asks about incidences of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use plus perceptions of availability and disapproval of use from parents and friends.

The benefit of choosing a survey company is that we take the guesswork out of the surveying process to ask the difficult questions. For more than thirty years, Pride Surveys has been helping schools collect data on teen substance abuse perceptions and drug use trends in their communities through scalable survey products. We offer multiple drug-free community survey options as well as student risk perception surveys designed to help assess teen substance abuse and risk, including our student surveys for grades 6-12, and our supplemental surveys like the Drug-Free Community Survey Supplement.

Browse the different types of scalable student surveys we offer and find out why Pride Surveys is the best choice to help you survey your school. Questions? Give us a call at 800-279-6361 or contact us here.

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[1] “The Effects of Opiates on Your Body.” Retrieved on 18 March 2019 at https://drugabuse.com/featured/the-effects-of-opiates-on-the-body/

[2] “New Data Show Growing Complexity of Drug Overdose Deaths in America.” Retrieved on 19 March 2019 at https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p1221-complexity-drug-overdose.html

[3] “US National Trends in Pediatric Deaths from Prescription and Illicit Opioids, 1999-2016.” Retrieved 18 March 2019 at https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2719580

[4] “Brain Development, Teen Behavior and Preventing Drug Use.” Retrieved on 18 March 2019 at https://drugfree.org/article/brain-development-teen-behavior/

[5] “Opioid Treatment: What Are Opioids?” Retrieved on 18 March 2019 at https://www.asahq.org/whensecondscount/pain-management/opioid-treatment/what-are-opioids/

[6] “The Effects of Opiates on Your Body.” Retrieved on 19 March 2019 at https://drugabuse.com/featured/the-effects-of-opiates-on-the-body/.

[7] Ibid.