Our Services: Core
Prevention

Wedgwood's core prevention services have set us apart as the leader in West Michigan. These publically funded programs are well known and respected by many area school districts, and the numbers prove it. We conduct 300 groups a year in school, community centers, churches, and judicial departments.

Our goal is to strengthen our youth and community by developing internal and external asssets that increase kids' resiliency and put them on the path to a bright future. We understand that family support and involvement are crucial to this process.

Our Core Positive Youth Development Programs
School Based During- and After-school Life Skills Programs

Wedgwood also offers an additional PYD program that receives no public funding. Pure Passion for Fashion (P2) is 100% funded by donor support, as is our unique community outreach program called Teens On Track.

Substance Abuse Prevention Education: We are presently facilitating ATOD (Alcohol, tobacco and other drugs) prevention-education groups in Kent County Schools, in the court system, and in multiple community centers and churches throughout Kent County.

• The Botvin Life Skills curriculum is used with middle and high school aged youth.  These groups of youth meet for 15 sessions.  Many of these groups are facilitated in alternative high schools or in the court system. This service is funded by the United Way and a Governors Discretionary Grant.  We apply annually for both funding sources.

• Project Success, a new contract with Network 180, is a school-based substance abuse prevention and early intervention program that places highly trained prevention specialists in the schools who work with adolescents individually and in small groups; conduct large group prevention/education discussions and programs; train and consult on prevention issues with school staff; coordinate the substance abuse services and policies of the school and refer and follow-up with students and families needing substance abuse treatment or mental health services in the community.  We have 7 years of secured funding for Project Success.
  
  
• Streetwise: Wedgwood Christian Services has developed a unique and innovated program to engage middle school youth in Life Skills programming, during the summer months.  For 2 weeks, youth learn valuable basketball skills from area coaches mixed with skills for life from Wedgwood Christian Services with a tournament concluding the event.  This program is facilitated in the community each summer.

Studies show that kids in west and southwest Michigan are trying alcohol as early as age twelve. The sooner you talk, the easier it is.

Click on the red cup!

This site not only has links to a variety of parent tools, it gives local parents the chance to hear and share experiences, techniques, and advice with other local parents on how they can educate their children and improve family time.

Be heard. Have a voice.
Share what you know with other parents, post on a variety of topics, and find links to helpful resources.

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Life Skills Education Groups: provide teens ages 12-17 with a series of eight-week classroom or after school interventions based on positive decision making.

• Abstinence Character Based Education (ACE) groups use the Relationships Under Construction curriculum.   
• We facilitate ACE in the following formats:
  • Middle and High School age students.
  • 9 sessions of the experiential ACE curriculum

Community Outreach Groups: These 8 session, early intervention groups, meet with small groups of identified students to discuss various topics throughout the school year.  A skilled facilitator works with a maximum of 12 students to present education and skills to students in relevant and innovative approach on the following topics:

• Grief and Loss
• How Emotions Work for You (anger management)
• Healthy Relationships and Boundaries
• Gang Intervention
• Girls
• Boys
• Coping Skills (stress, anxiety, depression)
• Conflict Resolution
• Life Skills
• Mean Girls: Dealing with Relational Aggression
• Strategies for Motivation
• Youth Leadership
• Substance Abuse Education

Community Awareness Events and School Assemblies:

• Movies in the Park During summer months, Wedgwood hosts movie nights in community parks throughout the county.  The evening focus is to bring families together for a pro-social family event that provides the opportunity to transfer knowledge about youth trends and issues, and to share information with parents to help them create a healthy environment in their homes that support youth in making healthy choices. Families receive a "drive home" question and answer card to encourage discussion between family members about concepts from the film, including overcoming obstacles to making healthy decisions, the role of encouragement and healthy friendships.
  

Community and Environmental Strategies: COMMUNITY ALCOHOL STANDARDS - Plan A is a four prong intervention strategy comprised of the following:

• ASSESS community entities for their current knowledge, policies, and practices and explore how they may contribute to the community’s present standard of alcohol use.
• ADOPT the Community Standards of Alcohol Use developed by the AOD Healthy Partnership coalition and now endorsed by the Kent County Substance Abuse Prevention Leadership Coalition.
• ACTION strategies will be developed with each person and entity adopting the strategies for implementation in their sphere of influence.
• ACCOUNTABILITY, biannual contacts to provide support as they seek to implement the standards and to keep the strategies being implemented active and in operation.

Family Engagement:

• Parent focus groups
• Parent Nights that offer education and fellowship

Community Collaboration:

• Wedgwood chairs the Coalition on Adolescent Choices and Health (COACH) whose mission is to encourage youth and teens to make  healthy life choices and to promote abstinence from sexual activity, alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use.
• Kent County Substance Abuse Prevention Leadership Coalition: A healthier community for all served by a substance abuse prevention system that fills gaps in services, focuses resources and funds, and reduces overlap.  To create and sustain an organized, connected, strategic, inclusive substance abuse prevention system by:
  • Holding the system accountable to outcomes;
  • Implementing a data driven planning process;
  • Including diverse community participants in the planning process;
  • Making collaborative/shared decisions;
  • Providing culturally competent prevention services; and,
  • Utilizing flexible and coordinated resources.

For more information about Wedgwood's prevention programs, contact Becky Toth at (616) 831-5670.