Internet Safety Tips

Internet Safety Tips With summer just around the corner, kids and teenagers will be spending more time on social media channels and less time supervised by an adult. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a few helpful tips to ensure your family is staying safe online. Social Media Can Wait Don’t be afraid to ask […]

Reflections on Diversity Day

Diversity: Webster:  the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. the state of having people who are different races or who have different cultures in a       group or organization Student:   how inside our differences, we are all the same I knew when the students started arriving this was going to be […]

Shway’s Courage

*Shway and his family came to America when he was 14-years old as refugees from Burma. Shway spent the first fourteen years of his life alone and isolated. For fourteen years, Shway wasn’t able to communicate or speak with anyone, not even his family. Shway was born deaf. Unfortunately, neither Shway’s family nor anyone in the […]

The Stigma about Alcoholism – Alcohol Awareness Month

It’s been three decades since I attended a training offered by Operation Community Awareness Nashville (CAN). That training and one shortly thereafter provided by STARS, (an organization that I only had heard about at the time), changed my life. So much so that I began my own recovery from the impact of addiction, and have […]

Tips for Child Disclosures: Dos & Don’ts

Over 800,000 children are confirmed as victims of abuse or neglect each year in the United States. Neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment, followed by physical abuse. Perpetrators are often family members, friends, and acquaintances. In fact, 95% of all victims know their perpetrators. Since 1981, our Kids on the Block program […]

Project Prevent: STARS partnership with MNPS

The last time we talked about Restorative Practices we addressed how it can be used as an alternative to harsh school disciplinary policies. Today, we show one of the ways STARS is using restorative practices to help decrease school-based violence and identify emotional, mental, or behavioral disorders related to school violence. The Issue: School-based Violence […]

The only time I saw white people…

I’m a native of Nashville. In fact, there aren’t many folks as Nashville as I am.  And, I live in the house near Tennessee State University in which I was raised. When I was a little girl, the only place I saw white people was down town, except for the insurance man who came to […]

Tips to Help Kids Respect and Accept Diversity

Tips To Help Kids Respect and Accept Diversity Teaching kids to respect and accept diversity can be a challenge. Our Kids on the Block program has made it one of our top priorities and we have become experts at it! Through the art of puppetry, our educational specialists are able to connect with audiences about […]

Importance of Art for our Youth

Importance of Art for Our Youth Let’s face it. Three hours of talk therapy is a long haul for anybody. And teens…well, you get the picture. If it had one, the motto for YODA Intensive Outpatient counselors would be, “Meet them where they’re at.” Therefor if a youth doesn’t particularly respond to a certain treatment […]

Why Do I Think Art Is Important

Why do I think art is important in the lives of our youth? I truly believe art creates points of connection. I’m talking about creative choices leading to experiences and relationships. As a kid, you have the ability to absorb so much in the right environment. As you grow, your mind wanders to so many […]