Mercer Council News

Exercise is a great way to manage feelings and stress in life-affirming ways. Join Mercer Council in supporting the Boys & Girls Club of Mercer County to improve access to bicycles for Mercer County's youth through the annual Bike Drive hosted by Mercer County and the Parks Commissions. This bike drive accepts bikes in any condition and do...

Established by Congress in 1961, Poison Prevention Week (held the third week of March every year) aims to raise awareness to poison control centers, the Poison Help Hotline (1-800-222-1222), and lower the incidences of unintentional poisonings. These poisons include and are not limited to animal bites and stings, carbon monoxide, household, and che...

This week is National Sleep Awareness Week. A campaign that began in 1998 with the intention of sharing information on the importance of sleep. It is commonly stated that adolescents sleep a lot and this is in fact a biological need to assist in their development. Did you know teenagers' bodies require an average of 9 hours of sleep per night?...

No one ever imagines their child will just vanish one day. However, commercial sexual exploitation of minors is one of the various sad realities of why children leave home. November is National Runaway Prevention Month. In shining a light on the intersection of substance use and sex trafficking of minors, MCADA wants to highlight that the leading f...

Choosing what to eat for dinner is a simple decision we can make without much thought. Difficult decisions such as where to go for college require careful and more serious thinking. In this session of Talking Points for Teens, the focus will be on making those tough decisions. We will examine the pros and cons for the different outcomes of each tou...

Our ASYSST (Available School Youth Support Services Team) has changed and is ready to assist the students at Ewing High this school year. We welcome our new Program Director, Dan Winter, our new Mental Health Clinician, Carly Scanlon, and our returning Developmental Specialist, Shakita Johnson. They are excited and have a lot of great things planne...

On July 20, 2021 the students of ASYSST Summer Camp demonstrated an act of goodwill by providing their time and services to the community. During this day of summer camp, the students put together grief bags for the Hand to Hold organization that is housed at Ewing High School (EHS). These bags are given out to students and staff in need, but mainl...

Summer Camp is back at Ewing High School.  It is a first come first served, up to 15 students can attend. Students will enjoy a variety of activities, games, and 3 field trips throughout the summer. Please see the attached flier for further information and to sign up.

As June is Pride Month, as well as Canadian National Indigenous History month there is a recognized need to provide services in areas that may seem more unreachable. To provide resources to a population that may not have otherwise been given access to information is an important part of prevention education. This gives the opportunity to educators ...

Virtual Learning, Covid-19 pandemic and isolation from friends are just some of the struggles our teens have been facing since March 2020. In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, Talking Points for Teens will focus on how teens can manage their emotions when life doesn't seem to be going their way. Please click the link below to access...

April not only brought showers, it was also Alcohol Awareness Month. Although we are seeing a decline in teenage drinking, the numbers are still too high. In this session of Talking Points For Teens, we focus on the dangers of alcohol and underage drinking. Please click the link below to access our YouTube channel to view the Talking Points For Teens video. Enjoy the video. Stay Safe, Stay Safe He...

If you ask anyone in prevention about how they feel about the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, and 80% of them will answer with the same phrase- I am worried about the mixed messages being sent to youth. And they aren’t wrong.  Legalization of marijuana is a mix of emotions no matter where it is discussed- it is touted as the savior of economies and social/racial injustice, a r...

Hello Community! At the end of each cycle for the Trenton Municipal Alliance Grant, the Coordinator- along with the Mercer County Division of Youth does an undertaking called The Calendar Project. We specifically ask them to express how drugs, alcohol, and violence has shaped their lives and they express that through poems, drawings, and paintings. We collaborate with primary and middle school stu...