Published April 14, 2021
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A Healthy Lynnfield’s Youth Council is making a positive impact at Lynnfield High School.
The Youth Council discussed the group’s initiatives at LHS during last week’s Select Board meeting. The Youth Council consists of senior Madeline Cook, senior Sarah Doherty, senior Riley Slaney, senior Daniel Lu, sophomore Evyenia Georges, sophomore Andrew von Jako, sophomore Teanne Alfama Polanco, and freshmen Addie Connelly, Olivia Goguen and Olivia Scire.
Doherty said serving on the Youth Council has allowed its members to “sharpen our existing leadership skills and create new ones.”
“It gives us a place to act on things that we are passionate about and where our voices can be heard,” said Doherty. “In particular, our work allows us to interact with our peers, but also with the larger community. It broadens our perspective beyond our classroom education. I know that I will be taking the leadership and community service skills I learned with A Healthy Lynnfield when I go off to college next fall.”
Cook said the work undertaken by the Youth Council taught the students “what prevention really is.”
“It should be woven into all aspects of our lives, including where we live, learn, work and play,” said Cook. “It’s not just about awareness. It’s about making change in our community. Everyone — businesses, educators, health care, government, young people and individual community members — have a role in creating a healthier community, nation and world. Doing prevention work hopefully prevents harm later.”
Georges said the Youth Council has been reviewing “a lot of data” in order to understand the impact substance use and mental health has had on students and the community at-large.
“To understand substance use issues in Lynnfield, we have discussed at length the concerns that we have and what we hear or see from our peers in school,” said Georges. “We have been tasked with looking at the best response that fits the community.”
Polanco said the Youth Council has been working to provide mental health support to students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a stressful time because many were isolating due to the pandemic,” said Polanco. “We created a winter wellness flyer to share healthy tips about self-care, managing remote learning and resources for mental health support. We partnered with Lynnfield Public Schools’ Food Service Department, and distributed 250 flyers.”
Scire said the pandemic has allowed more people to stay connected through social media.
“For the month of December, we created Wellness Wednesday posts for A Healthy Lynnfield’s social media accounts,” said Scire.
Goguen said she is concerned about the “mental health impact” COVID-19 has had on students.
“I created a bulletin board display in the high school in order to spread wellness messages for my peers,” said Goguen.
Goguen noted that the Youth Council has been involved with community service initiatives as well.
“Giving back to the community and helping those less fortunate is important to us,” said Goguen. “This winter, we decided to hold a donation drive and collected 500 personal care items to support Citizens’ Inn, which is an agency that provides housing for families impacted by substance use, hunger and homelessness.”
Von Jacko recalled that four council members attended CADCA’s National Leadership Forum conference.
“It was a national three-day National Leadership Forum conference with 3,000 other attendees to learn about environmental strategies to address mental health and substance use,” said von Jacko.
Georges agreed.
“We had the opportunity to learn from other teens about prevention efforts across the nation and learn more about mental health, substance misuse, the opioid epidemic and suicide prevention efforts,” said Georges. “We would not have had this opportunity without A Healthy Lynnfield.”
Connelly said A Healthy Lynnfield’s Above the Influence initiative is the organization’s “prevention theme for 2021.”
“Our Youth Council did two reflective activities to learn about what this messaging means to us,” said Connelly. “The ‘Be It’ activity allowed us to examine how we can be a positive influence. We reflected about our own actions and how they may be perceived or can affect others either positively or negatively.”
Polanco said the second theme is called “Tag It.”
“‘Tag It’ allows us to look at influences in our lives and how they may affect us or prompt us to make decisions,” said Polanco. “Understanding different influences around us, both positive and negative, gives us the skills to be more aware in our decision-making.”
Doherty recalled that Select Board member Phil Crawford proposed that the town form A Healthy Lynnfield almost four years ago.
“Mr. Crawford had a vision to create a group of community stakeholders to drive this work in the community,” said Doherty.
Cook recalled that her grandparents, Select Board member Dick Dalton and his wife Carmela, formed the Think of Michael Foundation after their son Michael passed away from an opioid overdose in January 2018.
“My family suffered the sudden loss of my uncle,” said Cook. “From that tragedy, I have learned a lot about substance use disorder and the affect a disease can have on a family. My Nonni and Papa, Carmela and Dick Dalton, and the rest of our family created a nonprofit, Think of Michael, in my uncle’s name to help individuals and families battling substance use disorder.”
Slaney recalled that both A Healthy Lynnfield and Think of Michael hosted A Night of Hope the past two Septembers.
“This event had a huge impact on us as teens in our community,” said Slaney. “It represented the community coming together in support of people impacted by substance use. It said to the rest of Lynnfield we care about this issue.”
Doherty recalled that A Healthy Lynnfield has sponsored assemblies, guest speakers and workshops in order to raise awareness in the community.
While Scire said the town’s substance use and mental health prevention efforts are “new to Lynnfield,” she said the Youth Council is excited that the initiatives are “here to stay.”
“We are looking to build on what we learned this year and continuing to work with others in the community,” said Scire.
Slaney said the Youth Council created plaques for Crawford and Dalton that recognized both men for being an “honorary champion for youth.”
“Being able to participate in A Healthy Lynnfield’s coalition meetings, I have seen first-hand the pride that Mr. Crawford takes in his work of the coalition and the importance he feels to engage in this work,” said Slaney. “Mr. Crawford leads with a make-it-happen attitude that has led to A Healthy Lynnfield’s success in the community.”
Cook said Dalton’s plaque recognizes her grandfather for helping establish the Think of Michael Foundation and bringing A Night of Hope to town.
“He cares for everyone around him,” said Cook. “He takes negative situations and turns them into positive ones. He puts a lot of hard work and time into everything that he is involved in. I am proud to call him my Papa.”
After the Youth Council showed the Select Board a video called “21 Reasons to be Above the Influence” they created, Barrett commended the work undertaken by the council.
“This gives us hope for the future,” said Barrett. “I am beyond inspired. Seeing and hearing our young leaders shows us that our future is bright thanks to young Pioneers like these leading the charge for A Healthy Lynnfield.”
Barrett said Crawford and Dalton should be incredibly proud of the fact that they strengthened substance use prevention efforts in town.
“These two organizations have already changed lives and provided hope to so many,” said Barrett.
Dalton was “humbled” by the Youth Council’s tribute.
“Seeing the Youth Council here and listening to what they have been doing is really inspiring,” said Dalton. “I want to give Phil Crawford credit for founding and being the driving force behind A Healthy Lynnfield. It will have long-term positive effects on the community.”
Dalton also thanked Think of Michael’s Board of Directors for “being so committed to the foundation.” He recalled that a number of the board’s members were Michael’s childhood friends.
“I am one of a couple dozen people in a leadership role,” said Dalton. “Without them, we wouldn’t have been so successful.”
Dalton also commended the Youth Council for making a positive impact in the community.
“Keep up the good work,” said Dalton.
Crawford said what A Healthy Lynnfield has accomplished in four years is “incredible.” He said Substance Use Prevention Coordinator Peg Sallade, Drug-Free Communities Coordinator Julie Greene and Outreach Coordinator Leanne Bordonaro have done “a tremendous job.”
“I am incredibly proud of the Youth Council,” Crawford continued. “They have made an impact on their peers and the younger generations coming up. I also want to thank Dick and Carmela for everything they have done with Think of Michael.”
Superintendent Kristen Vogel said she is “very proud” of the Youth Council’s work.
“This is a great example of student voice and student agency,” said Vogel.
Slaney thanked the Select Board for inviting the Youth Council to the meeting.
“It means a lot to us that adults want to hear our voices,” said Slaney.
