Emily is a high school senior at Wyoming Valley West. After she lost a friend to suicide earlier this year, the tragedy prompted her to hold a benefit concert to help support the non-profit organization To Write Love on Her Arms.

"To Write Love On Her Arms [is] an international organization that provides counseling and assistance to teenagers suffering with depression, addiction or self-mutilation issues."

The benefit was scheduled to be held at an area jazz café, and Emily said she hoped that at least 150 attendees would be on hand to support the bands and the organization. Source: Times Leader News

Labels: counseling, prevention, suicide

Mary Hopkins began counseling at-risk boys and girls in 1982. Now, twenty-five years later, she's being recognized as a local hero as part of Bank of America's "Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Awards."

"Hopkins, a New Jersey native, became a local volunteer in 1982 at the Children's Receiving Home of Sacramento, an emergency shelter for abused and neglected children. After three or four years there, she joined the Foster Grandparent Program sponsored by Sacramento County's Department of Human Assistance. In this capacity, she began counseling boys and girls at juvenile hall."

Hopkins is now volunteering at the Warren E. Thornton Youth Center, a juvenile center for boys and girls who have committed crimes. Though she's a bit embarrassed to be recognized for her work, her boss believes it's deserved. "She has withstood the test of time," he said.

Labels: abuse, counseling, support

There's a new mural being created in the Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center in Santa Monica, California. It's special, specifically because it's not being created by a professional artist, but by the young people of the center.

"The effort is part of a $750,000 federally funded program dubbed 'Night Bridges', which includes weeks' worth of after-hours tutoring, counseling, life coaching and other activities. Launched three months ago, the program is part of a larger, three-year effort to reduce gang and youth violence in Santa Monica."

If the program is successful, it may serve as a model for other youth programs. Read more online.

A Directory of residential treatment centers, teen drug rehabs, and other resources for adults and parents of teenagers struggling with alcohol or drug abuse can be found Adolescent-Substance-Abuse.com. Adolescent drug treatment programs can help get your teen's life back on track. Learn about the myth's of alcohol and teen drug abuse at AdolescentSubstanceAbuse.com.

Labels: counseling, teen_center, tutoring