Whether you were aware or not – students and youth are hungry for the opportunity to have their voice be a tool to help, guide, motivate, and lead others. I will provide several examples of this below – and one prime example is that of Festival of Words coming up in it’s 26th year. Yet- another first is also happening following Festival of Words.
The very first student-led Substance Misuse Summit- requested for by students – and coming to fruition adds a level to literacy many might not connect with at first.
I didn’t, until I began listening to the gaps I heard from student’s stories (literacy) in understanding (literacy) what concerns they are seeing in their own day to day events.
What is the purpose of this summit following Festival of Words? Previous to the idea of creating a youth-led summit, addressing issues of substance abuse, mental health, and healthy alternatives to a healthier life overall, students from various schools had been meeting at Georgetown Public Library (they have been amazing in encouraging youth initiatives and strategies for the community) to discuss the issues of problems with substances and our youth, We were lucky enough to have Festival of Words author Angelo Menefee, Lisa Messina and Erin Grier from Courageous Hearts, Senator Eric Buckson, Youth Intervention Leader Carmina Taylor to point us in the right direction.
I was lucky enough to sit down with Ms. Lisa Messina and have a chat about general topics last week, and she mentioned- Reading is an intervention, is a prevention. We also connected CADCA to this where our student travelled to and represented Delaware.
I thought about that for a bit. We discussed how many forget that a school library, as well as a public library, is a location for relief, respite, and decompression. Many forget during a busy day filled with classes, homework, assignments, and accountability, having a space to relax and be able to just – let your mind rest for a bit- that is one of the most important areas and spaces needed for any school.
When discussing Courageous Hearts and how they are currently working with Woodbridge High as one of several schools, there are three areas they implement and work through: Prevention – Therapy – Recovery and working n small groups. Additionally, with Animal Therapy, this is a powerful tool with Equine Assisted Therapy.
Through the conversation, I realized what the students had already realized – when opportunities pose themselves to the community such as Festival of Words sponsored in part by the Delaware Library Association for 26 years in the name of literacy, there also are the opportunities to widen the door to understanding different types of literacy. The literacy of understanding how mentally physically, and socially, literacy can exist when all these basic needs are met and supporters. It seems a “no – brainer” (sorry, had to do it!) that not just the brain, but the heart also has to be supported to be healthy in areas of literacy that involve the arts, writing, reading, mental healthy, physical health, as well as social health.
With inviting and representing so many community organizations that can represent these areas- we need the community to be a part of making sure Festival of Words continues with your attendance, but also making sure you are willing to sit in and hear the concerns students have in addressing these other areas – that impact all areas of our communtiy’s health.
Yes we need you to come to the Festival of Words, yes we need you to participate and be a voice at our first ever youth led substance misuse summit, and YES, we need you to spread the word so others can be involved. Please keep checking back our blog as we post updates.
In blue at the bottom of this post, you will see the most amazing organizations represented at our summit, and at this link, you will see us developing the amazing things we love about all the authors and artists attending. In the next few days you will see some amazing treats and gifts you will be able to take part in in being a part of Festival of Words as well as the 2026 Youth led- Substance Misuse Summit.
Most of all, none of this, NONE of this, could be done without the amazing community partners/sponsors. (Focusing on Independent Book Store day today!)
that are making this possible- absolute. Keep listening and paying attention to our developing website as well add the podcasts from the sit downs students have been having to keep the literacy and awareness of all these amazing resources our community depend on to simply be healthy in a variety of ways.
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A little about Courageous Hearts from Lisa Messina:
Good afternoon, Mr. Brake, my name is Lisa Messina from Courageous Hearts. I was referred to you by Karen Johnson at the Bridgeville Public Library. We are working together on scheduling some programs for January and she mentioned that you might be a great contact for the community outreach services we provide at Courageous Hearts.
As a community outreach specialist, I provide mindfulness groups under a prevention contract with the state of Delaware.
Courageous Hearts is a clinical psychotherapy office that provides outpatient office visits and equine assisted psychotherapy. Our main office is on a farm in Lincoln, Delaware. I provide mindfulness groups for students. The evidence-based curriculum we employ is called Learning to Breathe. This programming is available to our community through state funding, so it is offered to your students without charge.
Time: The mindfulness groups are 35-45 minutes each, one day a week for 6 consecutive weeks. We also can schedule a ‘once and done’ mindfulness group for a larger group of students that would be 45 minutes to an hour.
Age: The student ages typically are elementary (third grade and up) or middle school, and on occasion, high school. This is for both public school and homeschool students.
Group size: Typically we form groups of 6-8 students. And we can schedule multiple groups back-to-back on the same day of students in similar grades.
Content: Each weekly lesson has a topic of focus based on the acronym for BREATHE. It is prevention based to teach students how to listen to their body, be mindful of their thoughts, and be kinder to themselves concerning their emotions and self-talk. There is a heavy emphasis put upon calming oneself, being gentle with self talk, and breathing techniques.
We also provide a health and wellness group with a teaching called SPORT PPW (Prevention Plus Wellness) PROGRAM. This would be focused on Middle school ages and above. It is a program designed to discuss positive health choices such as proper nutrition, proper sleep, physical activity, and good choices to avoid substances. This is a ‘once and done’ 1 hour program.
We do require a signed permission slip from parents or guardians for each student. I can send these documents for printing or posting.
My cell number is 302-841-2096 for any questions. If this sounds interesting to you, let’s plan something for January!
I am excited about partnering with you and your students for mental wellness!
Lisa
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Who is going to be part of those representing the summit and at Festival of Words that support our community?
Cornerstone Community Center KAT Force
Delaware Council on Gambling Problems
Nemours (While they are not able to be present due to two other commitments, they will be represented this day!)
PAVEing a Blog 