Forward South Bronx Coalition

WHAT CAN WE DO? By: Cedric McClester What can we do, In order to discourage,... Young people from Seeking false courage ? Or prevent them from Going full throttle By drinking alcohol By the bottle What can we say, That will resonate, With an underage drinker, That could change their fate? Is there some way For us to intervene, Before it’s too late, Ya know what I mean? How can we reach ‘em, In a meaningful way, That would make them listen, To what we have to say? Must adverse consequence Be bought into play, In order for them to realize, That it’s not okay? How do we change, Their social norms, To shelter them, From future storms? Ya see the answer I’m hoping we can find Will help them to have A change of mind Cedric McClester, Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

IF NOT FOR By: Cedric McClester If not for the pills Doctors once prescribed... The musician Prince Might still be alive Along with others who Sought similar relief Because their stories too Ended in grief If not for the greed On Big Pharma’s part The opioid epidemic Right from the start Might not have grown To epic proportions Because of ignorance And outright distortions If not for the relaxed Government regulations We might not now Be at our battle stations Trying to reverse What’s sweeping our nation Because opioids doesn’t Go on vacation If not for the prevalence Of the fentanyl drug And its purveyors Who are typically smug Then we might not have Gotten mugged In the way that we have By this deadly drug Cedric McClester, Copyright 2019. All rights reserved.

October 11th- Hashtag TALK~!

We are presently in the process of planning our Talk Town Hall Meeting on underage drinking and other drug misuse among Longwood/Hunts Point youth between the ages of 12-20. The Town Hall Meeting will be held on Friday, October 11, 2019 at St. Athanasius School, 830 Southern Blvd. from 6pm-9pm. Unfortunately according to the most recent statistics underage drinking leads the list of misused substances for Longwood/Hunts Point youth in the above age categories. As we get closer to the date, more information will be posted.

Truer then fiction This newest affliction Called opioid addiction Without restriction Was allowed to spiral... Because of denial And now it’s gone viral Just yesteryear No one seemed to care Now it’s everywhere No prisoners to spare As our contributions Become resolutions Requiring solutions To this disorder That crosses the border As timeframes get shorter We had just oughta Ask ourselves how To lower the plough And address it now By medically treating The challenges we’re meeting It’s worth repeating The obstacle we’re defeating Is opioid addiction The disease, the affliction Through medication interdiction By (C) copyright Cedric McClester

Today the MTA took a decisive step to ensure New York City's most vulnerable residents our children are protected from the negative influence of alcohol adv...ertising. Banning alcohol advertisements on our subways and buses is a critical step toward reducing young people's interest in alcohol and the MTA board should be commended for moving our City forward in this positive direction. (UPDATE) Read more about it in today's NY Times: https://nyti.ms/2h8r9Af Thank you to my colleague Council Member Daniel Dromm, Cedric McClester of the Forward South Bronx Coalition, BAAFT, & Bronx Health Reach for your steadfast advocacy on this issue!

Today's Town Hall meeting gave us a chance to talk about how important it is to have the youth involved, how important it is to talk about intervention, prevention and recovery. It is a beautiful thing to see youth involved in bettering their community and we hope that our next Town Hall is even more successful than this one. Please follow us on twitter @fsbcnyc & on instagram @fsbc__

The #FSBC wants the youth to understand that one night of drinking can mean more than just a hangover. Please speak to your kids about the dangers of alcohol. The "Talk They Hear You" campaign helps parents have that conversation so that they can help them make better decisions.

Please take this survey, it'll only take about 5 minutes & it will help us all learn more about what you think and/or know about Medically Assisted Treatment. By completing this survey you are helping us to help your community, your elders, your youth, YOUR SOUTH BRONX.

please follow us on twitter & insta @fsbcnyc - twitter @fscb__ - instagram We want our #SouthBronx youth to not just survive, but to also thrive!

We invite all youth from the #HuntsPoint #SouthBronx area to join us in a #leadership #training for #FREE ! If you want to see your #community thrive, want to see the people in your borough survive & thrive, if you want to lead others to success, and defend the community you live in against things like drugs and underage drinking PLEASE JOIN US! Give us a call at 718-665-9585 ext. 17 or shoot an email to Maria Figuieredo at [email protected] The training is on Apri...l 12th. Join us & learn to be an even bigger and better #leader! See more

Please follow us on twitter @ fsbcnyc