Getting ready for the upcoming school year isn’t all about notebooks, brand-new clothes and lunchboxes. It’s also about laying the foundation for good communication with your child and preparing them for a new transition. Questions about drugs and alcohol will inevitably come up during the school year. Need some help? Check out the items in our back-to-school survival guide, designed to help you talk, listen and improve your overall communication with your child: Prevent drug use at every age. From preschool to young adulthood, find out what to say.   Learn about the drugs in your teen’s world.   Our Drug Guide will give you the facts to keep your teen safe (PDF).   Download our free mobile app for Android phones and iPhones for easy access to information on drugs most commonly abused by teens ‒ including photos, slang terms and short- and long-term effects.   Listen to what these moms have to say. Partnership moms give their 10 best back-to-school tips.   Set limits. While your teen’s judgment skills are developing, she needs you to keep her safe by setting clear limits backed up with firm consequences.   Become a better listener. Learn how to listen. Take this quiz (PDF) about active listening, and learn how it can help improve parent/teen conversations.   Starting a new school?  Help your child make good choices during this critical time.   Talk about marijuana. Find out how to have meaningful, productive conversations with your teen about marijuana.   Help end medicine abuse. More teens are abusing prescription medicine than ever. Here’s what you can do to help.   Encourage healthy competition. Help your student athlete embrace healthy, drug-free competition.   Write a contract. Establish rules (in writing) about drugs and alcohol that you both agree to (PDF). Still have questions? The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids is where families find answers. Visit our website, drugfree.org, year-round for more tips, tools and resources.             We're here to help. Call our Parents Toll-Free Helpline 1-855-DRUGFREE (1-855-378-4373)            DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE. Messages sent to this email address are not read. If you have a question or comment, please use our interactive online help system. Subscribe to our RSS feeds. To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Drugfree.org, add thepartnership@drugfree.org to your address book. Partnership for Drug-Free Kids | 352 Park Avenue South | Ninth Floor | New York, NY 10010 unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences | view email in browser

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This Saturday: COA Angels in League Finals   The COA Angels are one win away from the New Jersey Amateur Baseball League (NJABL) South Championship after defeating the Perth Amboy A's last Sunday 7-2! Pat Migliaccio scored the Angels' first run, with the team celebrating at the plate. David "Miracle Man" Mericle pitched a complete game in the 95 degree heat, as the team pulled together once again to move themselves closer to the NJABL Commissioner's Cup. In this Finals series, two winning games of three will move a team forward to the Commissioner's Cup Playoffs; last Sunday's win was the first, so another win will put the Angels into the Playoffs.  Please join COA at the Angel's next Finals game to show your support! The next game will be this Saturday, August  22, 6:00 pm at Rudyk Park, 500 Valley Place in Perth Amboy. The Angels will again face the A's, this time on the A's home field. Immediately before the game, the Angels and A's will share burgers & dogs on the field....all are welcome, so if you can, come early and get to know the exceptional young men on both teams! Sat., Oct 10: Join COA to Remember Davey Gold Davey Gold was a talented DJ as well as a friend & mentor to many. His life ended this summer, far too soon.  Please support COA and honor Davey's life on Sat., Oct. 10 at Cedar Gardens, Rt. 33 in Hamilton. This fundraiser will celebrate Davey's life with the music he loved. There will also be photos and videos, so if you didn't know Davey before, you will by the end of the evening! This man will be missed....Come to support Davey's friends and family, come because you want to help, or just come because it'll be a good time!  Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. To buy tickets, click here.  To learn more about Davey, click here. New on COA Recovery Radio! Let's Talk About Recovery! COA Recovery Radio is the only radio station anywhere that plays recovery talk 24/7/365! All shows are original, uplifting and available on any Internet-enabled device at www.coaradio.com or thru the free smartphone app. A recent report from the Task Force on Heroin and Other Opiate Use by New Jersey's Youth and Young Adults identifies heroin and opiate abuse as "the number one health care crisis" confronting the State. Yet, two new State laws that could provide major assistance to students battling addiction have been crippled.  On the latest episode of "Solutions" an original COA Recovery Radio show, host Michael DeLeon gives details.  To listen to this show, and learn about legislative action - or inaction - in New Jersey, click here. To listen to all "Solutions" episodes on demand, click here and to sign an online petition asking Gov. Christie to re-consider his veto of the bill establishing 3 new recovery high schools in New Jersey, click here. Education, education, education! A few short years ago, Joel Pomales was a high school dropout in active addiction. He is now clean & sober, holds a GED, and has set his sights on a PhD. Find out how he did it on this week's "Prosperity in Recovery". To listen to the show, click here. Joel is also Chairman of Young People in Recovery-NJ and a certified Recovery Coach. To listen to other "Prosperity in Recovery" episodes on demand, click here.  All COARR shows are online, on demand:    For "Stop Feeding the Predators" with  Lynn McClain, click here.  For "Wellness in Recovery" with life coach Nancy Tilelli, click here.  For "Journey Thru the 12 Steps with the Life Recovery Bible," click here. For "Share Your Scars!" with Vicki, click here. For "Wings Over Water: Creativity in Recovery" with recovery musician Kathy Moser,click here. For "Families and Recovery" with Cathy and Bill,   click here. For "Prosperity in Recovery" with Rich Alexander, click here  . For "Living Clean & Sober" with Johnny Raggs & Ken MacDonald, click here  . For "Solutions" with Michael DeLeon, click here. For "Your Legal Recovery" with Saul Segan, Esq., click here.

August 20 CHP 88 v 6 v 7 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALM

You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness , in the depths Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you have afflicted me with all your waves . (GODS BIG BOOK)

STEP 3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God .

This verse reminds me of all the times I dug myself a hole and thought I am never gonna get out of this one. I discovered that is where God does His greatest work . My Pastor calls them valleys and in one of those valleys I spent a large portion of my life. Exhausted and broken is where I found myself and I realized this valley is gonna kill me or change me . The walls in a valley are steep and climbing them without ropes is impossible ! I was so hard headed and prideful that I did not need ropes , I will keep scratching , climbing , and crawling I will get out of here. Years I spent doing just that !One day , laying on the valley floor tired , alone , and afraid , I looked up and saw the Son lowering a rope , in a soft voice He said FOLLOW me ! Out of the valley I came ,and into His marvelous light ! 

John 14 - 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

(GODS BIG BOOK)By Joseph Dickerson

The Social Interactome is here! Our new research project is examining social networking as a tool in recovery. We need your help! The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute was recently awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Heath to study how social media interactions could help people recovering from alcohol, opiate, or stimulant addictions.   Please refer your friends who are in recovery to join IQRR today!

You will be assigned a network of Recovery Buddies (RBs) to interact with during your participation. You will be able to write on their wall, comment on images, and encourage each other along the way!   There will be assessments to complete and live video meetings to attend! You will have access to modules designed to educate you, challenge you, and improve various aspects of your recovery experience.  Sign up today! In addition to helping us advance addiction research, you will be compensated for your time for participating in the Interactome. Help us help others by signing up today!

This study is approved by the Virginia Tech Institutional Review Board. For questions or concerns directed toward the Institutional Review Board, please contact Dr. David M. Moore at (540) 231-4991 or moored@vt.edu. Our mailing address is: interact@vtc.vt.edu Please unsubscribe below to remove your email address from all future emails from us. unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences

Study: Online Support Groups Not as Effective as Face-to-Face Meetings for Sobriety - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids

Study: Online Support Groups Not as Effective as Face-to-Face Meetings for Sobriety - Partnership for Drug-Free Kids