Site last updated on:
  July 29, 2010

Resource Links

Children's Mental Health

• Mental Illness: What a Difference a Friend Makes (12-19-07) -- This site is here for people living with mental illness—and their friends. You'll find tools to help in the recovery process, and you can also learn about the different kinds of mental illnesses, read real-life stories about support and recovery, and interact with the video to see how friends can make all the difference.

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Disaster Relief/Preparedness

• Minnesota Road Conditions (03-23-09) -- Weather Reports, Construction, Delays, Detours, and more. (Note: You can also dial 511 on your cell phone to access road conditions.)

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Drugs and Alcohol Abuse Prevention

• AboveTheInfluence.com (07-06-07) -- This web site is created for the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (a program of the Office of National Drug Control Policy). This campaign reflects what teens across the country say are going on in their lives. Their goal is to help teens stay above the influence. The more aware teens are of the influences around them, the better prepared they will be to stand up to the pressures that keep them down. This web site does not tell teens how to live their life, but gives another perspective and the latest facts.

• AlcoholScreening.org (07-24-07) -- AlcoholScreening.org helps individuals assess their own alcohol consumption patterns to determine if their drinking is likely to be harming their health or increasing their risk for future harm. Through education and referral, the site urges those whose drinking is harmful or hazardous to take positive action, and informs all adults who consume alcohol about guidelines and caveats for lower-risk drinking.

• Is Bad Judgment the Cause and Effect of Adolescent Bing (10-11-09) -- It is no secret that binge drinking and faulty judgment go hand in hand, but what if poor judgment lingered long after putting the bottle down and sobering up?

• Take It Back (10-10-07) -- Take It Back is a national youth-directed movement to reduce alcohol problems.

• Teen drinking never legal, always dangerous (10-18-09) -- Most parents are extremely concerned about their children utilizing illegal substances or drugs, but there appears to be greater leniency about underage drinking.

• The Minor League (04-14-08) -- Teens from throughout Polk County, MN working together in a youth-led, adult-guided prevention movement. They encourage and promote healthy decision-making by youth to reduce the use of alcohol/tobacco/other drugs and to reduce involvement in violence, early sexual activity, suicide, and many other risky behaviors.

• Too Smart to Start (04-07-09) -- The Too Smart To Start Web site helps youth, families, educators, and communities prevent underage alcohol use and its related problems. It provides useful programs and strategies, downloadable materials, interactive games and exercises, and other resources to support you in responding to The Surgeon General's Call to Action To Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking.

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Education

• College.gov - Preparing for College (09-22-08) -- The U.S. Department of Education recently unveiled this new Web site that aims to motivate students with inspirational stories and information about planning, preparing and paying for college.

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Local, State and Federal

• Minnesota Attorney General's Office (06-24-04) -- The Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the state and is the legal advisor to the Governor and all the constitutional officers. The AG represents and advocates for consumer protection, charities oversite, antitrust enforcement and utilities regulation.

• Minnesota Constitutional Officers (06-24-04) -- Lists the name, address, telephone number(s), email address and web addresses for the Attorney General, State Auditor, Governor, and Secretary of State.

• Minnesota House of Representatives Members (06-24-04) -- The Governor is responsible for the administration of state government, the proposal of biennial budgets, appointments, proposal and review of legislation and the preparation of comprehensive long-range plans for state growth.

• Minnesota Lieutenant Governor's Office (06-24-04) -- As Minnesota's second-in-command, the lieutenant governor is prepared to assume the governor's duties any time the governor is unable to perform them. The lieutenant governor represents the governor and the State of Minnesota within the state, nationally and internationally.

• Minnesota Members of Congress (06-24-04) -- A list of the Minnesota's eight U.S. Representatives and two U.S. Senators. Included are links to their web sites and e-mail addresses.

• Minnesota Senate Members in District Number Order (06-24-04) -- List of Senate Members include District Number, Party, Name, Room, Telephone, and Email address.

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Mental Health

• Real Life Conversations (05-18-09) -- Real Life Conversations is designed to share real life stories of people living with mental illness, provide ways to help adults engage in a conversation with someone with mental illness, and educate consumers on mental illness to reduce the stigma of mental illness.

• ULIfeline (12-18-07) -- A program of the Jed Foundation, ULifeline is an anonymous, confidential, online resource center where college students can search for information regarding mental health and suicide prevention. Their Web site has enhanced student features, and a new component called Counseling Central, built exclusively for college mental health and student affairs professionals.

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Programs and Services

• North Country Food Banks, Inc. (12-08-08) -- They are the sole distributor of surplus food products to over 150 charitable food programs in NW Minnesota, including our soup kitchens, food shelves and homeless shelters. Other recipients include low-income individuals in need of supplemental assistance, group homes, senior programs, youth programs, addiction treatment centers and domestic abuse programs. Find local food shelves in your area.

• Project C3 (05-28-09) -- Connecting youth to community and careers

• Transit Systems in Minnesota (12-08-08) -- Find transit systems by county.

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Search Engine

• MinnesotaHelp.info (01-15-08) -- An online directory of services designed to help people in Minnesota identify resources such as human services, information and referral, financial assistance, and other forms of aid and assistance within Minnesota. It is especially rich in resource information for seniors and their caregivers; people with disabilities and their caregivers; parents and families; and low income people.

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Sexual Minority

• Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (05-11-09) -- The Gender Public Advocacy Coalition works to ensure that classrooms, communities, and workplaces are safe for everyone to learn, grow, and succeed - whether or not they meet expectations for masculinity and femininity.

• National Center for Lesbian Rights (01-14-09) -- The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.

• National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (01-14-09) -- The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all.

• SMYAL - Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (05-11-09) -- The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League (SMYAL) is the only Washington, DC metro area service organization solely dedicated to supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

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Suicide Prevention

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (10-03-06) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the launch of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK. The national hotline is part of the National Suicide Prevention Initiative (NSPI)—a collaborative effort led by SAMHSA that incorporates the best practices and research findings in suicide prevention and intervention with the goal of reducing the incidence of suicide nationwide.

• Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, Inc. (03-17-04) -- SPAN USA is a not-for-profit national organization dedicated to creating an effective national suicide prevention strategy. SPAN USA links the energy of those bereaved by suicide with the expertise of leaders in science, business, government and public service to achieve the goal of significantly reducing the national rate of suicide by the year 2010.

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Transition to Adulthood

• The Youthhood (11-07-07) -- This site is a place for you, your friends, and other teens. It's a welcoming community for all youth and a place where all youth belong. We want you to be here. This is your place, your space. The Youthhood Web site is a dynamic, curriculum-based tool that can help young adults plan for life after high school. It was designed by a talented group of staff at the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, which is located at the University of Minnesota.

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Veterans and their Families

• Army Family Readiness Group for Kids (02-03-09) -- The ArmyFRG has something for everybody. Deployments are especially difficult for kids. Our online Kids center has several tools and activities that your little ones can use to stay connected to their Soldier abroad.

• Army Family Readiness Group for Teens (02-03-09) -- Parenting a teen through deployments can be extremely difficult. The teenage years bring anxiety and new pressures that are challenging even without deployments. ArmyFRG is sensitive to this and offers several tools for both teens and their parents.

• Army Family Readiness Group for Tweens (02-03-09) -- A Tween is a child between childhood and adolesence, around the age of 8 to 12. The online Tweens section has tools and activities for Tweens dealing with deployed family members.

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Violence Prevention

• Transforming Communities to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (10-12-09) -- This brief outlines the most promising local prevention strategies and policy changes to prevent child sexual abuse from happening in the first place.

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