Use what talent you possess: the woods would
be very silent if no birds sang except those that
sang best.

— Henry van Dyke (author)

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE

For its  new book, filled with stories about the dangers of gang life, ARISE Foundation interviewed several incarcerated young gang members about their experiences.

As part of its mission to write life skills curricula that is authentic and realistic, ARISE founder Edmund Benson went to a juvenile correctional facility August 7 and sat down with several young gang members in an effort to hear their stories and give them a chance to warn at-risk young people about the perils of gang life.

Teens may not listen to authority figures, but they do listen to each other. Firsthand stories of the constant fear, danger and violence of life inside a gang are a way to reach young people on the cusp of making the life-destroying decision to join a gang. Quotes from the interviewed gang members will be included in ARISE Foundation’s new upcoming collection of stories about gangs, written by people from all over the country. Each story was handpicked to illustrate a critical point. Topics range from the disastrous effects gang life has on someone’s family members to how easy it is to lose your life to gang violence. The stories illustrate, using plaintive, stark language, how easy it is to get caught up in the endless cycle of revenge that gang members live in every day.

The three interviewed gang members spoke candidly about the actions that led them to their incarceration. One 17 year-old, who joined a gang at age 12, spoke of the constant nightmares that plague him.

“The worst part of being in a gang,” he said, “is every night when you go to bed, you see the faces of the people you hurt, and your friends that got killed. That’s the hardest part, the nightmares.”

ARISE hopes to duplicate the success of one of their most popular books, “31 of Taneka’s Urban Tales,” with this new anthology of captivating stories.

Great works are performed not by strength but by perseverance.

— Samuel Johnson

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE

When it comes to sharing the kind of practical advice parents and grandparents once provided children who engaged in disruptive behavior, ARISE (a nonprofit foundation established in 1986) acts like surrogate parents by providing life management skills curricula that focus on the knowledge once taught as families sat around the kitchen table at night discussing the day’s events. This is where most of our informal education once took place, where we learned about anger and conflict management, the importance of a good education, how to find a job and keep it, why one’s friends often foretell one’s own future and much more good advice that shaped our lives.

For almost 30 years ARISE has produced time-tested lessons in plain English, no big words as obstacles for students to trip and fall on. ARISE curricula are easily understood by youth reading three to four grades below average because the focus is on participation, not neat handwriting and punctuation. ARISE lessons are perfect for those interested in positive youth development and successful teen programs focused on diversion and reintegration.

The ARISE home office team—unsatisfied with producing a complete library of memorable stories and solid, practical information that sticks to young minds like Velcro—also developed a series of training programs for teachers, juvenile justice staff, and those offering youth services and programs for troubled youth and their families. In addition the ARISE website makes it possible to download lessons, books, and posters and to order videos for all ARISE-trained staff statewide. To date ARISE has trained over 5,000 ARISE-certified life skills facilitators who have gone on to teach OVER 4,000,000 documented hours of instruction from the Everglades to the panhandle. ARISE is used in all 25 Florida congressional districts.

ARISE-trained group facilitators act as mentors, sharing the fundamental information in the ARISE curricula with understanding and concern. This surprises often violent teens used to grim, unsmiling faces issuing single-syllable orders to misdirected youth with bad attitudes when held under lock and key. ARISE-trained juvenile justice staff truly become life coaches, something that has been lacking in the lives of these children. These good people share realistic information that’s right for today, ready for tomorrow—the basics at-risk youth require to succeed in today’s competitive society. And it’s done in a caring and compassionate manner.

The secret to ARISE’s success is a small group of dedicated people who, on a daily basis, face and overcome the challenges so many nonprofits are forced to cope with today. The good people ARISE employs and those in Washington who support the needs of high-risk youth enable ARISE to provide its curricula and life skills staff training program across Florida in over 100 juvenile justice facilities where youth are held behind razor-wire fences and steel doors. This effort enables ARISE to meet head-on the youth’s established patterns of negative behavior while they are incarcerated, helping them reenter society with tools they need to flourish and succeed.

These handwashing do’s and dont’s can keep you from getting sick. President Obama recently declared  the H1N1 flu pandemic a  national emergency. There are things you can do to dramatically lessen your chances of getting the flu. In addition to the handwashing tips below, gargle with saltwater and gently swab the inside of your nose with a cotton swab soaked in saltwater. Cold and Flu germs hide in the back of the throat and the nostrils. Even if you’re not sick, blow your nose a few times a day to dispel germs. Just be sure to wash your hands afterwards. Cleansing the nose and throat  frequently and washing your hands can help keep you from getting sick. Of course, if you come down with flu-like symptoms, see your doctor immediately.

If you need a visual reminder to wash your hands, ARISE has two posters available for download or purchase—one for adults and one for children.

Here are the Mayo Clinic’s Do’s and Don’ts for handwashing:

Hand Washing: Do’s and Don’ts

By Mayo Clinic staff

Frequent hand washing is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness. Hand washing requires only soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer — a cleanser that doesn’t require water. Find out when and how to wash your hands properly.

When to wash your hands:

As you touch people, surfaces and objects throughout the day, you accumulate germs on your hands. In turn, you can infect yourself with these germs by touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Although it’s impossible to keep your hands germ-free, washing your hands frequently can help limit the transfer of bacteria, viruses and other microbes.

Always wash your hands before:

• Preparing food
• Eating
• Treating wounds or giving medicine
• Touching a sick or injured person
• Inserting or removing contact lenses

Always wash your hands after:

• Preparing food, especially raw meat or poultry
• Using the toilet
• Changing a diaper
• Touching an animal or animal toys, leashes or waste
• Blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing into your hands
• Treating wounds
• Touching a sick or injured person
• Handling garbage or something that could be contaminated, such as a cleaning cloth or soiled shoes

Of course, it’s also important to wash your hands whenever they look dirty.

How to wash your hands:

It’s generally best to wash your hands with soap and water. Follow these simple steps:

• Wet your hands with running water.
• Apply liquid, bar or powder soap.
• Lather well.
• Rub your hands vigorously for at least 20 seconds. Remember to scrub all surfaces, including the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers and under your fingernails.
• Rinse well.
• Dry your hands with a clean or disposable towel or air dryer.
• If possible, use your towel to turn off the faucet.

Keep in mind that antibacterial soap is no more effective at killing germs than is regular soap. Using antibacterial soap may even lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the product’s antimicrobial agents — making it harder to kill these germs in the future.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers — which don’t require water — are an excellent alternative to soap and water. If you choose to use a commercially prepared hand sanitizer, make sure the product contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Then follow these simple steps:

• Apply enough of the product to the palm of your hand to wet your hands completely.
• Rub your hands together, covering all surfaces, for up to 25 seconds or until they’re dry.

If your hands are visibly dirty, however, wash with soap and water. Antimicrobial wipes or towelettes are another option, although they’re not as effective as alcohol-based sanitizers.

Kids need clean hands, too:

Help your children stay healthy by encouraging them to wash their hands properly and frequently. Wash your hands with your children to show them how it’s done. To prevent rushing, suggest washing their hands for as long as it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice. You might place hand-washing reminders at children’s eye level, such as a chart by the bathroom sink for children to mark every time they wash their hands. If your children can’t reach the sink on their own, keep a stepstool handy.

Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are OK for children and adolescents, too, especially when soap and water isn’t available. Make sure the sanitizer completely dries before your child touches anything. Store the container safely away after use.

Hand washing is especially important for children in child care settings. Young children cared for in groups outside the home are at greater risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases, which can easily spread to family members and other contacts. Be sure your child care provider promotes frequent hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Ask whether the children are required to wash their hands several times a day — not just before meals. Note, too, whether diapering areas are cleaned after each use and whether eating and diapering areas are well separated.

A simple way to stay healthy.

Hand washing doesn’t take much time or effort, but it offers great rewards in terms of preventing illness. Adopting this simple habit can play a major role in protecting your health.

Posted in arise foundation, arise life skills, Flu Prevention, hand washing, hygiene for kids, Life Skills Tagged: Flu Prevention, h1n1, hand washing posters, handwashing, how to avoid getting sick, how to keep from catching the flu, how to keep kids from getting the flu, hygiene posters, kids handwashing, prevent flu, swine flu

There are no mistakes, no coincidences
(things that happen by chance). All events are
blessings given to us to learn from.

— Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE

A man may fulfill the object of his existence
by asking a question he cannot answer, and
attempting a task he cannot achieve.

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE

Every 29 seconds, a student gives up on school. In an effort to turn the tide, ARISE created a riveting series on dropout prevention.  Book 1 is titled “So You’re Thinking of Dropping Out of School,” and it outlines just how difficult life can be for young people who cut their education short. Book 2, “So You’re Thinking of Staying in School,” gives underachieving teens  solid reasons they can relate to for staying in school and the knowledge they need to communicate effectively, build meaningful relationships and make healthy decisions. The Dropout Prevention series is not just an instantly usable prevention tool—it is a resource-packed source of valuable information teens can lean on for advice and priceless tips to help them avoid the hard-knock life most dropouts face.

The Dropout Prevention series is one of the cornerstones of the huge ARISE life management skills library, which is in the process of a thorough update with new photographs and  formatting and updated statistics. For almost 25 years, ARISE, a nonprofit foundation, has developed and published life management skills curricula and staff training programs. Designed to reach at-risk, incarcerated youth in detention centers and secure juvenile facilities, ARISE is also utilized as a powerful prevention tool for teenagers and young adults before they end up behind bars. ARISE programs consist of interactive group discussions and activities designed to break the ice quickly and grab the attention of even the most introverted participants. ARISE is particularly appropriate for youth with special requirements such as limited reading and/or writing ability and behavioral problems.  ARISE attributes its success to its three innovative staff training programs. ARISE Drop It at the Door shows juvenile justice staff how to drop work-related stress and anger at the door when they get home, and how to drop the personal issues at the door when they come to work. The Life Skills Group Facilitator training teaches staff how to conduct ARISE interactive group discussions and activities with the troubled youth in their care. The Master Training certifies participants to train others as ARISE Life Skills Group Facilitators at their respective facilities.

ARISE programs have been utilized for decades in the Miami-Dade School system. ARISE has forged a strong partnership with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). ARISE programs have been changing the lives of juvenile offenders in the Florida juvenile justice system since 1996. These dynamic programs are being taught in over 100 DJJ facilities across the state, as well as alternative schools and organizations such as the Salvation Army and Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs.

ARISE programs are also used in over 100 organizations in the District of Columbia, including Washington, D.C. public and charter schools, the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, the Metropolitan Police, the District of Columbia jail and the D.C. Superior Court Probation Department.

Because ARISE is a nonprofit, it is able to provide a wide array of training opportunities and an ever-evolving life skills curricula for at-risk youth at affordable rates. Profit is not a motivating factor. Its nonprofit status gives ARISE Foundation the ability to get out into the community, speak to incarcerated youth and adults, and turn their cautionary tales into lessons meant to help at-risk youth become law-abiding citizens by learning from others’ mistakes.

A recent study by Vanderbilt University and the University of Maryland showed that the cost of one offender with at least six police contacts from childhood to age 32 is $3,172,998. In other words, rescuing one child from a life of crime saves taxpayers more than 3 million dollars.

Since ARISE was established over two decades ago, it has trained and certified   5,760 Group Facilitators who have taught over 4,055,708 documented hours of ARISE life-skills lessons in almost all 50 states. ARISE has been used successfully in Canada, Jamaica, England, Australia, Bahamas, Bermuda, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Bosnia, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Botswana and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Requests for translation have also come in from as far away as Pakistan, South Africa, Cambodia, Singapore and China.

For more information, please call ARISE Founder Edmund Benson  at ARISE toll-free: 1 (888) 680-6100 or visit http://at-riskyouth.org.

If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different
drummer. Let him step to the music which he
hears, however measured or far away.

— Henry David Thoreau

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE

It takes time to succeed because success is
merely the natural reward of taking time to do
anything well.

— Joseph Ross

These words of wisdom are memorable, easy to comprehend, and to the point, like all ARISE curricula and staff training.

ARISE and Shine! Support ARISE