By Aurelio Rodriguez, Carbon County Opioid Affected Youth Initiative Liaison, USU Extension
As the leaves start turning their warm fall colors and chill temperatures fill the air, families (especially youth!) start looking forward to Halloween. Many trunk or treat events, costume contests, and pumpkin patches are scheduled for the remainder of the month across our communities. For parents/guardians, taking their children to multiple events can quickly feel like a chore instead of something to look forward to. But changing our perspective to think about these events as an opportunity to spend time with our youth, can help!
Luckily, research shows that families who spend time together by participating in community events can develop and strengthen bonds that ultimately help protect children from mental health and substance use issues. According to youth.gov, spending time together as a family can help children develop emotional regulation, and increase their self-esteem and communication skills.
Many of the activities that are scheduled this month are free and open to the public and can be found on ETV’s community events page: etvnews.com/community-events or the Carbon Corridor events page – carbon.utah.gov/events
One such event, the Carbon & Emery Opioid & Substance Use Coalition will be hosting, is the National Take Back Day in both Carbon & Emery counties on Saturday 10/26 from 10am-noon. This event provides an opportunity to go through your medicine cabinets and prevent future substance use in your community. As an added perk for the fall festivities, there will be pumpkin decorating and hot chocolate for families to enjoy some time together while engaging in this important prevention activity. Come visit with us and our collaborators later this month, learn more: facebook.com/share/MvD66cspdGe1sxBv/
