Happy New Year and welcome to the final Connecting Cortland Communities column for 2009. It is a pleasure to be able to write the last article of the third year of the column’s publication. 

The Cortland Area Communities That Care Coalition (CACTC) had a very busy 2009. Most of its major activities were highlighted in 35 different articles that appeared in Connecting Cortland Communities. The writers covered a wide variety of topics. Some gave tips for parents and families about ways to deal with issues faced by their children.  Abuse of alcohol, prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse, self-injurious behaviors, suicide prevention, bullying, adolescent pregnancy, and street drug abuse were discussed.

Other writers described the work of County organizations that offer an array of services to residents. The YWCA, East End Community Center, Cortland City Youth Bureau, Family Reading Partnership, Access to Independence, CAPCO, Cornell Cooperative Extension, and Catholic Charities of Cortland County were all featured. These partners in the work of the Coalition all provide programs that promote positive youth development for youth and families in Cortland County.  Summer and before/after school activities, leadership skill-building, access to books from birth through the school years, mentoring and tutoring opportunities, family resources, and 4-H were just some of the subjects addressed. 

Topics of general community concern were also described. Local homelessness and the problems associated with holiday blues were spoken to. The importance of students' smooth transition from summer vacation to the school year routine was discussed.  In addition, the positive prevention impact of school connectedness in supporting healthy development of children was outlined.

The Coalition's own sponsored programs were highlighted. A Coalition partner 7 Valleys Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse offers Strengthening Families 10-14 to families facing the transition of a child from elementary school to junior high. The Red Ribbon Campaign and Planting the County Red are Coalition efforts to support youth in ways that encourage them to make healthy decisions.  The Coalition's highly successful third Youth Conference featuring Carlos Andres Gomez on diversity was held last March. The 2009 Safe Host pledge that supports families as they address underage access to alcohol was featured. The work of the 2009 Prescription/Over-the-Counter Drug Abuse Task Force also received attention.

If you happened to miss any of those columns, feel free to go online to www.cortlandareactc.org which is the address of the Coalition's website. Click on Connecting Cortland on the home page.   You will see a list of the articles that appeared in this Cortland Standard column during 2009.  To read any that interest you, click appropriate titles.

What are you going to see in 2010?  In January there will be a column from Jeanette Dippo on gambling.  Kimberly McRae Friedman will describe the latest research into adolescent brain development and its relationship to the behaviors common to that age group.  Sometime near the beginning of the year, there will be a report on recent local survey findings related to substance abuse and our own county risk and protective factors. Autism, how to be a safe host, and positive parenting are just a sampling of other topics that will be discussed in 2010.

Should you have a specific concern you want to have addressed, feel free to contact CACTC Project Coordinator Judie Murphy. She can be reached at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Catholic Charities of Cortland County, 33 Central Avenue, Cortland, NY 13045. Her phone number is 756-5992 ext. 25. Every effort will be made to respond to requests. 

Jo Ann Wickman is chairperson of PR.Com, the public relations workgroup of CACTC, and a member of the Coalition Board.