“The world was made to be wooed and won by youth.” – Winston Churchill
Helpful Services for Our Youth
Positive Youth Development Resources
Learn how to become a safe and responsible babysitter! Tri-Town offers the American Heart Association’s Pediatric First Aid and CPR course along with a babysitter training certificate program.
Job Bank
Attention teens! Are you looking for a job? We’ll help you find your match. Simply download the Youth Form here. Interested Employers may download the Employer Form. Forms can be mailed and dropped off to the office at 56 High Street, Deep River or faxed (860.526.3600).
Youth Action Council
Attention teens! We cannot prevent teen substance use, bullying or youth suicide without input from the young people in our community! We invite John Winthrop and Valley students to join our coalition. Share your stories of teen life: what you love about our community and what you wish were better. Receive leadership training, learn about the 40 Developmental Assets and work side-by-side with community leaders to solve some of our area’s biggest challenges. Find your voice, share your ideas and help make our schools and our neighborhoods even better.
Clinical Services
We are here for YOU! Providing the residents of Chester, Deep River and Essex with therapeutic services and other resources to help your family thrive. TTYSB Clinical Director, Melanie Meyer is available to provide individual or family therapy for residents of Chester, Deep River or Essex. For some families, the low-cost (or no cost) clinical services at the youth service bureau are more affordable or more convenient than seeking counseling with private providers in our community. TTYSB treatment is intended to be short-term, and Melanie has a great deal of experience working with middle and high school aged youth. TTYSB networks with local mental health professionals and provides referrals and recommendations for specialized services or longer-term care, as needed.
We offer the following services:
- Individual Therapy
- Family Therapy
- Couples Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Parental Support
- Other Resources as needed
Please contact Melanie Meyer for more information at 860-526-3600 or melanie@ttysb.org.
Mentoring
Tri-Town Youth Services has been talking with local residents, school staff, business leaders, clergy and young people, to get a better sense of what families need right now, so that we may offer the best programs and services to our neighbors. During these conversations, something became clear: we need more mentors! An overwhelming amount of research shows that the key to a young person’s success, achievement and resiliency is the presence of at least one caring adult in their lives. More than anything, it is the consistent, positive, supportive adult relationships that help young people overcome life’s challenges and thrive.
As a small community – with a large adult and retiree population – we have the capacity to ensure that every child in need of a mentor in the Tri-Town area is paired with one. With support from the CT Mentoring Partnership and Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters, Tri-Town Youth Services is developing a system for recruiting, training and pairing mentors with local kids. Whether you are interested in a short-term project working side-by-side with youth, or a longer-term commitment to support one young person in need of some extra care and attention, we would like to hear from you.
We have new opportunities for teens to become mentors, too. Tri-Town’s Reach out! Program pairs Valley girls with elementary school girls. They meet after school weekly for snacks, games, crafts and conversation. The participants, their families and school social workers are thrilled with the program, but there is a need for more!
If you are interested in mentoring a child or teen, please contact Melanie Meyer, Interim Executive Director at 860-526-3600.
Youth Asset Development
Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth (HC-HY) serves to build developmental assets in youth and communities. HC-HY is funded in Chester, Deep River and Essex and throughout Middlesex County through the Middlesex United Way. Learn more
So, what do kids really need to succeed?
Did you know that the more Developmental Assets youth possess, the more likely they will be emotionally healthy and successful in life?
View the 2015 Report to the Community: an analysis of our first decade measuring local Youth Assets. –Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors– in our 2015 Report to the Tri-Town Community
Learn more about the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets (which identifies a set of skills, experiences, relationships, and behaviors that enable young people to develop into successful and contributing adults), download resources and tools, and discover what you can do to increase developmental assets in your youth and community settings.