There are two words that best describe the members of Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth initiative in Old Saybrook, CT: passionate and committed. 
When the initiative was born in 1996, this small town in Connecticut had nothing special it could lay claim to for its kids. “Twelve years ago when we tried to start this program,” says Gretchen Bushnell, one of the original members of HC•HY, “Old Saybrook was not the happiest place. Kids felt alienated. Police didn’t have good rapport with the youth in the community and the government didn’t have good rapport with the kids.” To top it all off, the local youth center had closed its doors due to lack of funding. It seemed that the door had been closed on youth activities in the town. Then members of the community decided that something had to be done. The townspeople decided to hold a meeting to air some of the circulating concerns.
The pastor of the local Lutheran church brought forward the idea of the 40 Developmental Assets and together the community decided to administer Search Institute’s Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey. Getting involved with the assets was the first step in a long chain of events and the initiative has been growing ever since. In 2007, among other awards, the town was honored as one of the “100 Best Communities for Young People,” an award given out by America’s Promise Alliance.
“I think one of the very first things, especially for a community that has no money, is that they have to have a group of people who are dedicated.” The community started from scratch with their initiative, working with a very limited budget in a town where the youth center had been shut down. “I really believe that you can’t do anything until you have a group of people that believes- and really believes strongly—that people need to treat each other with respect,” says Bushnell. For a while this was almost all that the initiative had, along with the dedication of its members. For the first two years, members of the board went door–to–door to all the service organizations and businesses in town promoting the asset-building message and trying to gain support.
Gain support, they did though slowly, but steadily. In 1998 the town had its first Family Day Picnic, a small event with donated food, a few games and activities, and a band that agreed to volunteer their time. At this point the initiative was still pushing for donations and scavenging for grants and funding, so they were big on using community resources to pull things together. “If a couple of agencies or groups each put in $200, you’ve got a great program,” agrees Larry Freundlich, Director of Youth and Family Services for the town of Old Saybrook, one of the critical partners of the initiative. “Networking and collaboration between the many sectors of our community was one of the biggest factors in our success,” adds Michael Rafferty, principal of the town’s middle school.
Drawing on their past experiences, the members of the HC•HY initiative in Old Saybrook identified factors that were absolutely crucial to their sustainability and success as an initiative. Though the initiative grew from humble beginnings, it has grown and blossomed and helped to create a community where youth are recognized and appreciated. Here are some of the factors that members of Old Saybrook HC•HY feel helped to get them to where they are today:
Networking and community support. “We consciously do this,” says Rafferty. “We make sure that we involve all facets of our community: businesses, clubs, students, teachers, school administrators, town government etc. We all network to make sure this is a healthy community and we therefore have healthy youth.” The initiative in Old Saybrook is under the umbrella of Youth and Family Services, which provides much–needed support and structure to the initiative. Paula Palmieri, the coordinator of the initiative, feels she would be floundering if the initiative were not so connected to other agencies in the community. “I can’t imagine being a coordinator for this initiative and working independently,” she says. “The support and direction that I get from Youth and Family Services is enormous. I can’t imagine carrying through with all of this if I wasn’t supported like I am.”
Start small. Recognize that you cannot achieve everything at once. Start with something you can get done. Pick tasks and goals that are achievable so that everyone feels that something has been accomplished.
A group of dedicated individuals. HC•HY of Old Saybrook has found that since the beginning the initiative has ridden on the backs of a few key people. These individuals have always been willing to put in extra time and effort so that the initiative will succeed. Whether they are staying up all night drafting and re-drafting grant proposals or spending large chunks of time organizing events, a few individuals and their hard work can make all the difference.
Mobility and flexibility. Most people lead busy lives. Take this into account and instead of creating another event or meeting for people to go to, bring what you have to say to them. “HC•HY can be mobile. It can be brought to something or someone,” says coordinator Paula Palmieri. “Bring information on the Developmental Assets to programs and events that are already happening. This is an easy, cost effective way to start getting the word out and developing assets for our kids.”
Publicize your progress. Larry Freundlich maintains that it is important to publicize success, no matter how small. “When you’re able to see progress it motivates people and breeds success. When we’ve traced our survey results back over the last 10 years we’ve seen drug and alcohol rates go down and 34 of the 40 assets have gone up significantly. We’ve published that and talked about that and I think it’s exciting news for people. They feel that they can really make a difference.”
Don’t give up! If there is no initiative, there is no way to spread this wonderful message to people. Whatever it takes, bringing assets and the asset message to others is incredible work and it is something that every community can benefit from.
Today the work of the HC•HY initiative in Old Saybrook is truly embedded in the community. A couple of years ago the community decided to put a police officer in each of the schools, not to prevent fights or violence, but to encourage a new role for law enforcement in the town. The students have taken the Search Institute survey four times in the last 12 years, and each time there have been improvements. A number of years ago the county head of United Way noticed the impact of the HC•HY initiative in Old Saybrook and began spreading the word about assets to other communities in the county. “In the last two yrs in Middlesex County there have been seven communities that have taken the Attitudes and Behaviors survey and have put together action plans,” says Freundlich. “I think that’s impressive; that a whole county is coming together around Healthy Communities • Healthy Youth.”
Coordinator Paula Palmieri can be reached by phone at (806) 393-3190 or by email at ppalmieri@town.old-saybrook.ct.us. Greg Bushnell can be reached at gbushnell@earthlink.net, Michael Rafferty can be reached at mrafferty@oldsaybrook.k12.ct.us and Larry Freundlich can be reached at lfreundlich@town.old-saybrook.ct.us
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