News Articles

It takes a community coalition to support healthy youth

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:54:35 +0000

The year 1985 was the birth of the Amherst Youth and Community Coalition (formerly the Amherst Substance Abuse Task Force and Amherst Task Force for Healthy Community/Healthy Youth). The mission of the coalition is to support, promote, and link community asset building efforts for youth, their families and residents. Little did anyone realize that a small group of community members would still exist in 2025.

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Celebrating World Kindness Day in Amherst

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:33:40 +0000

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World Kindness Day is an international observance that occurs every year on Nov. 13. It is a day dedicated to promoting goodwill, empathy and the importance of kindness across communities and cultures. Kindness is free. It is spread through thoughtful words, genuine smiles, helpful actions and the sharing of time and resources.

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Youth & Community Coalition holding special film screening on downsides of social media

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:35:59 +0000

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In an effort to show the pros and cons in social media, the Amherst Youth and Community Coalition is hosting a special screening of the documentary "Can't Look Away: The Case Against Social Media" at 11:30a.m. on Sunday, October 19 at the North Park Theatre in Buffalo.

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Project Sticker Shock Strong in Town

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 00:24:34 +0000

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Project Sticker Shock, the placement of stickers on the packaging of beer and wine with the permission of a business, started in 1998 in Pennsylvania. It is a youth-driven, community based campaign that aims to reduce underage drinking by educating potential furnishers of alcohol to youth and changing public attitudes about providing alcohol to minors. On the sticker are the words, "Underage Drinking - Not a Minor Problem. Know the Law...Prevent

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Young people establishing positive connections with helpful adults

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 14:46:51 +0000

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Fall brings cooler weather, vibrant colors of changing leaves, the smell of cinnamon and pumpkin spice, crispy crunchy apples and the return to school. For youth, school staff and parents/guardians alike, this is a time for fresh starts, rekindling relationships and forging new connections. The Search Institute (https://searchinstitute.org) defines developmental relationships as, "close connections through which young people discover who they are,

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A Summer of Adults Listening to Youth

Fri, 09 Aug 2024 15:04:55 +0000

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Some remarkable conversations have been taking place this summer in the Town of Amherst between adults and youth. In late July, a meeting took place between 17 youth members of the Amherst Youth Consortium and adult members of the Amherst Youth & Community Coalition. Both groups have a similar mission of educating, supporting and expanding the Search Institute's 40 Assets for Healthy Youth Development. The adult attendees were

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Healthy Youth Column: Investing in youth asset development

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:53:07 +0000

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As we strive to build a thriving and supportive community, one of the most important investments is in youth asset development. The nurturing of positive values, skills, experiences, and opportunities in young people helps to develop lifelong assets which will assist them into adulthood. Summertime provides ample opportunities to enhance overall well-being and success in youth by providing recreational and social opportunities like sports, dance, outdoor

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Family Support Centers work to help families

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:48:51 +0000

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The three school districts in the Town of Amherst: Amherst Central, Sweet Home Central and Williamsville Central are committed to providing support/services for students and families in the community. The Amherst and Sweet Home school districts have created Family Support Centers to address the non-academic issues that interfere with students' ability to be successful in school. This includes connecting with mental health providers to deliver therapy

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Safe celebrations goal of parents, youth

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:40:54 +0000

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A priority endeavor of the Amherst Youth & Community Coalition for over 20 years has been to compile a list of the junior and senior prom dates and locations for Amherst Central School District, Sweet Home Central School District and Williamsville Central School District students. Information on proms for six parochial high schools in the community was also included. Once the list was completed in early April, it was sent to hotel managers and limousine companies, along with a letter asking for safety actions to be in place for our youth, including prohibiting access to

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Asset Ambassadors as role models

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 15:41:16 +0000

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Last month we spoke about Asset Ambassadors in the terms of those people who live with and support youth - in other words parents or guardians. Ambassadors are actually all-around youth - teacher, coaches, neighbors, older siblings, other relatives, religious, etc. Most of us can remember someone who positively influenced us when we were younger.

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Amherst Youth & Community Coalition: Asset Builders, are you one?

Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:00:36 +0000

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For many years now, the Town of Amherst and the public schools in the town have worked together to conduct the Search Institute Survey on behaviors and attitudes. The survey is taken by eighth, 10th and 12th grade students every two years to measure the number of "assets" or positive supports and strengths youth possess. The search has identified 40 assets and the more a person has, the more resilient and less likely they are to engage in dangerous behaviors.

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Why Engage in Community Coalitions?

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:58:19 +0000

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The Amherst Youth & Community Coalition needs you! The Amherst Youth & Community Coalition (formerly the Amherst Task Force for Healthy Community/Healthy Youth) is a diverse group of community leaders, educators, parents and citizens who collaborate to support positive youth development and prevent the use of alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, and other substances by young people.

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Amherst Youth & Community Coalition: New Year, second chances

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:06:52 +0000

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Actually, it's more than a second chance. Every year we get another chance to look at our lives and resolve to change the things we don't like. It's called New Year's resolutions. Some people succeed at their resolution, but most will last a month or so because those changes weren't important enough to suffer the inconvenience. If you resolve to lose weight and you give up the diet before you have reached your goal, then that resolution was no longer important to you.

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Amherst Youth Coalition: Richness shines in many ways

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 17:59:04 +0000

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To be rich does not always mean you have lots of money. You can be rich in many ways, have a healthy family, have good friends who care about you, have an opportunity to be educated and live in a community where you are respected and listened to. Over these past several years the importance of social, emotional, physical, and mental health of young people has been prioritized by educators, parents, and youth serving groups and orgnizations in the Town of Amherst.

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Amherst Healthy Youth: The path to problem solving

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:08:33 +0000

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Decision making and problem solving are sometimes difficult tasks, under the best of circumstances. Imagine not having all the tools needed to make good decisions available to you. This is what many young people are confronted with each day. For years the Search Survey of Attitudes and Behaviors has been conducted in the 8th, 10th and 12th grades in the Town of Amherst public schools.

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Healthy Youth: A new meaning for a walk

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 17:34:01 +0000

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On Monday, July 31, the Amherst Youth & Community Coalition treated the community to a new kind of walk, a Data Walk. Instead of being measured by the distance traveled, a Data Walk is measured by the knowledge and understanding you gain about the youth in your community. The information being shared was drawn from the 2022 Search Survey on Attitudes and Behavior administered to 8th, 10th and 12th grade students in the Town of Amherst.

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Amherst Youth and Community Coalition invites you to a Data Walk

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:02:37 +0000

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In case you are wondering, a Data Walk is a unique, fun way to engage the community in an interactive way of sharing data. In this case the data being shared comes from the 2022 Search Institute Survey of Student Attitudes and Behaviors Report given to hundreds of eighth, 10th, and 12th graders in the Amherst, Sweet Home, and Williamsville school districts.

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Sharing some facts on youth vaping in Amherst

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:11:05 +0000

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In late March 2023, six members of the Amherst Youth Consortium attended the first ever Young Adult Change Makers Academy which took place at Alden High School.

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Youth answer questions on marijuana use

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:11:22 +0000

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The Amherst Youth and Community Coaltion is here to answer your questions. Although recreational marijuana use becase legal for adults in March 2021, many people are still unaware of the dangers of that use, especially in young people.

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Teens respond to adult perceptions

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:11:43 +0000

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In the Spring of 2022, the Amherst Youth & Community Coalition conducted an adult community survey regrding adult perceptions of youth access to and use of alcohol and maijuana.

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Relationships highlighted in survey

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 18:12:09 +0000

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Of the 40 Assets for Healthy Youth Development, spearheaded by the Search Institute and incorporated in many organizations in the Town of Amherst, three stand out for promoting healthy relationships.

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A look back, one more time

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 17:47:24 +0000

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Despite the economy, the epidemic, COVID, and the snow we did it. We survived 2022 and made some good memories among the way. Below are comments of some of the things people are talking about from 2022.

“The main focus in my life is figuring out the whole college process. I am greatly looking forward to 2023 when the process wraps up and I have the answers to the question, “What college are you going to attend?”

- John, age 17

“I made a new somewhat close friend, with whom I am able to talk with ev- ery day at school, We are similar in our introverted personalities. A lthough we have had our rough patches, we prevailed and still enjoy one anothers company.”

- Ari, age 16

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Amherst Community Coalition highlights from 2022

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 18:01:43 +0000

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The year 2022 was certainly one of unique events. While trying to combat the opiate epidemic, the COVID-19 crisis hit in a way that changed the way people lived and worked. Then the Ukraine invasion took place.

Everyone has their own highlights of the year, and the Amherst Youth and Community Coalition thought it would be interesting to hear a few of them. Below is what we heard;

“The invasion of the Ukraine. It was truly terri- fying to see a country fall to its knees as Russian troops began to invade. But what this really showed was the resilience of the Ukrainian people. Having the bravery to stand up to forces larg- er than you takes guts. Because of this, the world has also decided to unite to protect freedom and true bravery.”

- High school student age 17

“Reflect- ing upon 2022, an event that stands out to me, is the worldwide effects of the war in Ukraine. Even though it started many months ago, communities are still experiencing its effects, especially from the economic standpoint. The effects of this war have trickled down to my daily prices of goods affected by supply chain disruptions stemming from the conflict abroad.”

- Isabella, age 16

“A personal community experience that stands out for me in 2022 is the death of two students at Williamsville South High School, Lauren Taggart and Luke Malinich. As everyone at the school grieved them, and continue to grieve, we have never been so united and sup- portive as a community.”

- High school student age 16

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Knowing the meaning of thankfulness

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:07:03 +0000

In a world where violence can be seen everywhere, it is good to be reminded that there is a lot of good in this world as well. Fortunately, in this community, the good shines brightly. The Amherst Youth and Community Coalition felt that with Thanksgiving on the horizon, it would be an opportune time to see how our community responds...

Boundaries can help reduce substance use, abuse

Mon, 14 Nov 2022 08:08:58 +0000

Do parental boundaries help reduce the use of alcohol and marijuana by those under 21? This question was recently asked of 23 high school students and 14 adults at a joint meeting of the Amherst Youth and Community Coalition and the Amherst Youth Consortium. The mission of the consortium is to introduce the Search Institute’s 40 Assets for Healthy Youth...