{"id":123784,"date":"2021-12-20T11:06:35","date_gmt":"2021-12-20T16:06:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/cchl\/?p=123784"},"modified":"2021-12-20T11:06:35","modified_gmt":"2021-12-20T16:06:35","slug":"changing-lives-in-paterson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/cchl\/2021\/12\/20\/changing-lives-in-paterson\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Lives in Paterson"},"content":{"rendered":"
A dozen teen girls are gathered in small groups in a conference room at Oasis \u2013 A Haven for Women and Girls, a nonprofit located in the heart of Paterson, on a recent Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Wheatherly Almonte \u201920 breaks the chatter with, \u201cToday\u2019s topic is social media, social norms and peer pressure.\u201d She has their attention.<\/p>\n
In an interactive 45-minute session, the 23-year-old Almonte guides the girls, ages 13-17, through the benefits and dangers of social media, warning that they can\u2019t believe everything they see on TikTok and that some people are living \u201cInsta-lies.\u201d She asks lots of questions: How many use various social media platforms? She ticks off a list. They all raise their hands indicating they are on TikTok and to a lesser extent on Instagram. The girls sheepishly respond to questions about their social media usage. Then Almonte quizzes them about what they see their friends doing on social media. Hands are raised, followed by rapid-fire replies:<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we\u2019re getting somewhere,\u201d Almonte responds, handing each girl who participates in the discussion a ticket; there will be a prize drawing at the end of the seven-week program. She also presents the group with different scenarios and reminds them to use a decision-making tool they learned during a previous session. She then quizzes them on everything from how seeing their friends partying makes them feel to how vaping affects their lungs (one hour of vaping is the equivalent of smoking 100 cigarettes or five packs), how many cigarettes are in a pack and how old one has to be to buy them \u2013 all of which they also learned during a previous session. Scenarios and lessons are regularly tied back to \u201csubstance use and misuse,\u201d as Almonte is teaching a new evidence-based curriculum which she learned and helped develop as a member of the P-CASA team.<\/p>\n
Partnerships, Funding Aid Paterson<\/h2>\n
P-CASA stands for Paterson Coalition Against Substance Abuse, a collaborative effort between Montclair State University and a diverse group of community stakeholders in New Jersey\u2019s third-largest city. P-CASA was founded in 2013 and its work is currently funded by a ten-year $1.25 million federal Drug-Free Communities grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, which runs through 2023. In addition, P-CASA receives support from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
The program is overseen by Family Science and Human Development Professors Robert Reid and Pauline Garcia-Reid, with Reid serving as principal investigator (PI) and program director and Garcia-Reid as co-PI and director of prevention services.<\/p>\n
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\nProfessors Robert Reid and Pauline Garcia-Reid<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
More recently, the Reids have also received two additional federal grants \u2013 Partnerships for Success and Prevention Navigator \u2013 to continue their prevention work throughout the Paterson community. All of the programs comprise the Communities Organizing for Prevention and Empowerment or C.O.P.E. Initiative and have impacted 30,000 adolescents and young adults in Paterson. All told, the programs have received $8 million in federal funding, which has been used successfully to develop and coordinate a comprehensive and multi-tiered prevention strategy, including culturally tailored curricula about substance abuse, HIV\/AIDS, and viral hepatitis health promotion to underserved populations.\u201cWe were able to show that there\u2019s a real need in Paterson for this type of work,\u201d Reid says. Paterson is one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, with more than a quarter (27.1%) of its residents living in poverty and crime rates higher than state and national averages.<\/p>\n
Garcia-Reid emphasizes that their work is meant to empower and not dictate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt is the giant E in C.O.P.E. that is driven through all of the work,\u201d she says. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to direct people on how to live their lives; we\u2019re trying to provide them with information so that they can make decisions and choices for their quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Reids are especially proud of empowering young people to affect change in their community. With the help of some P-CASA data showing that Paterson had more than 200 liquor establishments in an 8.2-square-mile area and that alcohol was available for purchase until 3 a.m., youth set about to change that. In July 2017, they showed up in council chambers in large numbers, armed with data, posters and a plea to improve their quality of life.<\/p>\n
Despite opposition from liquor stores, the council voted unanimously in favor of reducing sales hours. The council, according to the Paterson Times, \u201cenacted a new ordinance to force liquor stores to stop selling package goods \u2013 including beer and wine \u2013 after 10 p.m. The measure was heavily lobbied for by local young people and anti-drug advocates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reid says, \u201cIt\u2019s been pretty remarkable to change ordinances and get that on the books in the city of Paterson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia-Reid credits her husband for the almost two decades of relationship building that has allowed them to continue to do this work in Paterson.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough this coalition work, he pulled in key players,\u201d she says. \u201cWith multiple grants simultaneously, we\u2019ve been able to harness the resources of each to compliment the other, so it\u2019s been a really nice synergistic effect that has allowed us to really continue to work on various grants.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple say they\u2019re fortunate that their respective work compliments their partner\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been able not just to marry our lives but marry our work,\u201d Garcia-Reid says. \u201cHis passion has always been in substance abuse and HIV\/AIDS, and my area has always been a focus on adolescent and youth development and building positive outcomes among them. So, we\u2019ve been able to infuse both of our interests and research passions to come up with really solid proposals that have been fundable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Research indicates that the C.O.P.E. Initiative is working. Teenagers participating in the program \u201cexhibited significant reductions in substance use and sexual risk behaviors and marked increases in social support, family cohesion and community involvement,\u201d according to research conducted by the Center for Prevention Science at Rutgers University, the University of Iowa College of Public Health, and the University of New Mexico.<\/p>\n
In addition, a recent P-CASA study indicates that \u201cPaterson youth are increasingly seeing substance use (alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and e-cigarettes) and the perceived risks of these behaviors in a negative light.\u201d<\/p>\n
P-CASA Success Story<\/h2>\nWheatherly Almonte is a P-CASA success story who believes in giving back to her community.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
As someone who went through the P-CASA program and now works for it, Wheatherly Almonte is an example of its success personified. She started as an intern, working as an administrative assistant. She has since graduated from Montclair with a bachelor\u2019s degree in Family Science and Human Development and a minor in Social Work and hopes to earn a master\u2019s in social work. As a part-time University employee, Almonte serves as a P-CASA prevention specialist and lead facilitator. She attends and staffs a table at community events, informing people about P-CASA\u2019s work in efforts to partner with more community organizations, such as Oasis.<\/p>\n
The Reids say they\u2019re pleased to have Almonte as a member of their team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWheatherly\u2019s a beautiful representative of her community and is doing really amazing things,\u201d Garcia-Reid says. \u201cWe\u2019re really fortunate to have her be part of our team. It\u2019s really lovely to see the growth that our work has impacted, and we\u2019re able to give back by hiring in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crystal Marrero, the Teen Girl Coordinator at Oasis, says she appreciates Almonte\u2019s contributions to the after-school program attended by the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cWheatherly\u2019s from the community and has been able to step into the beat that the girls totally have,\u201d she says. \u201cShe\u2019s helped create a safe space for the girls to be comfortable, engaged and vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yadary, a teen in Almonte\u2019s class, agrees, noting that she appreciates the lessons and life skills she\u2019s learning from Almonte.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to be informed about substances, social media and safe sex,\u201d she says. \u201cAs I grow older, I need to be careful what I do, and it\u2019s good to be prepared as a young adolescent.\u201d<\/p>\n
About Almonte, Yadary, 15, adds: \u201cShe\u2019s nice. I like her way of teaching, and she\u2019s young, so she relates to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was only five years ago that Almonte was one of the high school teens listening to a P-CASA employee imparting similar lessons. Recalling her own experience while a student at John F. Kennedy Educational Complex, Almonte says she enjoyed the informational sessions.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the information was stuff that we either didn\u2019t know or we didn\u2019t get enough of at school,\u201d she says, adding that as a senior in high school she didn\u2019t receive enough sex education at home or at school. \u201cThis is information that we should be giving us as early as possible. Because the reality is that in high school even freshmen sometimes are having sex, and it\u2019s good to have these conversations because some parents are not having those conversations with their kids and it is always better for them to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
The same goes for substance use, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times, parents or teachers or anyone older, they tell them [youth], \u2018Don\u2019t do drugs. Don\u2019t do drugs.\u2019 But no one\u2019s really informing them why they shouldn\u2019t do drugs,\u201d Almonte says. \u201cThey\u2019re going to do it because they don\u2019t know how it\u2019s harming them. No one\u2019s telling them how it\u2019s affecting them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s where she comes in. Rather than lecture them or when she\u2019s met with complete silence, she works to engage young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we go into the field, and we tell them, OK, this affects you this way, and you see their faces, they\u2019re like, \u2018Wow, I didn\u2019t know that.\u2019 When we teach HIV, which is my favorite topic, a lot of them have so many misconceptions on the topic,\u201d she says. \u201cKnowing that I\u2019m going into the field, and I\u2019m leaving them with a piece of knowledge \u2013 or even if it\u2019s something that they know it\u2019s a refresher for them \u2013 that\u2019s what brings me joy doing this job.\u201d<\/p>\n
The oldest of seven children raised by a single mom, who helps make ends meet by working as an Uber and GrubHub delivery driver, Almonte recognizes that her life could have turned out differently, which is what drives her to help other young people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI beat the odds,\u201d she says. \u201cThere were people in my life who believed in me, who saw something in me that I couldn\u2019t see for myself. I wanted to give back to my community. I wanted to pour into the youth the same way that I, myself, was poured into.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almonte was already passionate about community service and P-CASA provided her an opportunity to directly impact her town of Paterson.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone sees Paterson as this bad place, but Paterson has so much good in it also that a lot of people don\u2019t see,\u201d Almonte says. \u201cSo, I am blessed enough to be a part of that. Giving back to the community is good.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Pauline](\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/12\/CEHS-Pauline-and-Robert-Reid.2.jpg.1.2x.generic.jpg\")
![\"Wheatherly](\"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/responsive-media\/cache\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/12\/CEHS-Wheatherly-Almonte-Oasis.jpg.3.2x.generic.jpg\")