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About Siletz news / (Siletz, OR) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2008)
TRIBAL PROGRAM NEWS CEDARR Community Efforts Demonstrating the Ability to Rebuild and Restore June 4, Noon Siletz Community Health Clinic Ask Raven Raven will answer your questions about problems associated with alco hol, tobacco and other drugs. You can call in your questions to the numbers at right or mail them to: Raven P.O. Box 549 Siletz, OR 97380-0549 Dear Raven: How do alcohol or other drugs affect your brain? I was at school and some people came in and talked about “loss of potential" to the brain. Confused Brain Dear CB: Wow! You remembered the term “loss of potential!" I was out the window listening to that and I learned a lot too. You obviously listened well. In the last few years, scientists have found out even more about the brain and how it works. They have discov ered exactly how drugs, including al cohol and tobacco, affect the brain. Basically, when you are learning something, brain cells are hooking up to make a connection to memory. This is called a synapse. If someone has any alcohol, tobacco or other drugs in their system, it changes how the brain re members the connection when they go back to use that memory. If the brain doesn't recognize the connection, it will get rid of the cells at certain times in the lifetime of a person. Scientists also have discovered that between ages 11 to 17, people's brains are making as many connections as if they were 1 and 2 years old. If kids are abusing drugs during this huge time of brain development, they have a greater chance of losing potential memory and skill capacity. They have to relearn - all over again - as an adult, delaying college, finding a career and even parenting children well. There is a lot more we are all learn ing about the brain right now. 1 hope you have learned enough to want to stay away from alcohol and other drugs, including tobacco. Take good care and have a great summer! Raven Dear Family and Friends: I want to talk with you all about summer. I know spring has been a bit cold - with snow even! We will eventually get some warmth to our bones and that will feel great. It’s a time with school being out that can be great fun and a time when chil dren have more time to explore. It’s a time when all of us as adults need to be aware that young people can get into trouble and need our time and involve ment in their lives. Adult supervision is very important. I know young people want to go off on their own, camping and spend ing time with each other without adults around. Please go with them anyway! Give them lots of space to have their time to talk with each other when they want to, but do be close by to make sure they are safe from outside danger and from making choices that can be harmful to them. Underage drinking and other drug use increase by a lot in the summer time. Below you will find a list of some of the things that the Prevention team is hoping to provide for youth this sum mer. Please do call one ot the people listed on the team if you or your child are interested in participating. And have a great summer! Watch for me flying around, re minding you to be sate and have tun! Raven Summer Prevention Activities by De Anna Pearl, Prevention Coordinator Young Kids Hour (ages 3-5) Bully Free Bowling Day at Ona Beach Bicycle Rodeo Family Bingo Swimming Roller Skating Housing Beautification and Bus Shelter Art River Floats Honey Do’s for Elders Youth Golfing Street Dance “Summer Luau” Whitewater Rafting Ropes Course Activities Run to the Rogue Youth Team Family Game Night Much More! Prevention Team Members: Tribal Education, Housing, Community Health, Healthy Families and SSP. Ju venile Crime Prevention, Mental Health. Diabetes, Physical Education, and ATOD Prevention. For more information, please con tact me at 541-444-8267 or 800-600- 5599. For more information, call 541-444-8286. We hope to see you there! Siletz Tribal A&D Programs Prevention, Outpatient Treatment and Women’s Transitional Siletz: 800-600-5599 or 541 -444-8286 Eugene: 541 -484-4234 Salem: 503-390-9494 Portland: 503-238-1512 TLC Attitudes of Gratitude by Lynn Whitlow Family, friends and reconnections can be an important part of the healing in recovery. In fact, those connections arc vital to our recovery. As human beings, most of us need social connections to feel a part of something beyond ourselves, prefer ably close, positive connections. When we are in our addiction, we may have social connections that are significant to us. but may not be good for our well-being. Often, as we exam ine the wreckage of our past, we real ize we have lost connections with some friends and/or family members who were very important to us. Some of these might be folks who just could not stick around to watch our self-destruction, who felt powerless to stop what they could not bear to watch. Others we may have pushed aside be cause their goals no longer meshed with what we wanted in our life - an other drink, another fix, another high. As we travel the recovery road and look at the losses we have sustained, we might desire to reconnect with some of those folks who got left behind. We, sometimes, are fortunate enough to reconnect with past dear ones who want to work at rebuilding relationships. Facing trust, abandonment and past abuse issues is hard work - very hard work. Forgiveness, love and hard work can forge a relationship even stronger than that left behind so long ago. The flip side, however, is that no matter what we might want, some of our “bridge burning’’ might never be re pairable. Some folks may not be will ing to attempt any connection with us. What we can be grateful for are those friends we do have who are will ing to accept us for who we are now. who we are becoming in our recovery and who are there to support us. As we grow and thrive, we can hope to wel come back into our circle some of those past losses with joy and gratitude. TLC residents are grateful for the friendships forged with each other, lor the new dishwasher and for our monthly Women’s Talking Circle. We are appreciative of our volunteers, who play a vital role in the operation of the TLC. Alice McCain, Lisa Brown, Denise Riding In and Vanessa Jackson, we thank you very much for all you do. We extend an invitation to all women to come participate in our monthly Women’s Talking Circle. Please call me if you are interested in joining us. We hold a potluck dinner immediately before for those who want to get together to socialize. Call 541 - 444-8238 or 800-600-5599. The same number can be called if you would like to volunteer at the TLC. Narcotics Anonymous Meetings Monday - 7:30-8:30 p.m. Atonement Lutheran Church 2315 N Coast Highway (101), Newport Friday - 7:30-8:30 p.m. Atonement Lutheran Church 2315 N Coast Highway (101), Newport Tuesday - 7:30-8:30 p.m. TLC - A&D Building 565 Old River Road, Siletz Saturday - 6-7 p.m. Siletz VFW 143 SE Eggbert St., Siletz Tuesday - 7:30-8:30 p.m. St. Peter the Fisherman Lutheran Church 1226 SW 13,h St., Lincoln City Saturday - 6:30-7:30 p.m. St. James Episcopal Church 2490 NE Hwy 101. Lincoln City Thursday - 8-9 p.m. St. Peter the Fisherman Lutheran Church 1226 SW I3,h St.. Lincoln City Toll-Free Help Line - 877-233-4287 June 2008 • Siletz News • 9
