Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health Read Along & Activity

Elementary age children and their families/caregivers are invited to join S.M.A.R.T. for a fun and informational read-along and guided activity. We're hosting three Gizmo’s Pawesome Guide to Mental Health read-along activities in the month of May, in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month 2022. Gizmo is a Connecticut-based emotional support dog, who is a K-9 First Responder and has become the mascot for CT’s suicide prevention program “1 Word, 1 Voice, 1 Life…Be the one to start the Conversation.” The Gizmo program is a supportive, data-driven & evidenced based program for youth that seeks to enforce strong bases for mental health wellness and emotional processing. The program approaches mental health wellness in a safe, non threatening way that gives youth the opportunity to develop self-care and emotional response skills, guiding them in identifying stressors, developing healthy coping mechanisms, and teaching them how to identify safe & trusted adults in their lives to help them along the way.

S.M.A.R.T., Inc. (Southbury & Middlebury Acting Responsible Together) is a nonprofit organization that supports the communities of Southbury, Middlebury, and beyond by offering educational programming, implementing prevention efforts and hosting trainings for students, parents, and community members.  S.M.A.R.T. is the Local Prevention Council for Southbury & Middlebury and works under the Department of Mental Health and Addiction services, in collaboration with Region 15 and other community sources, to increase public awareness about the prevention of substance abuse, identify & remove barriers to the wellbeing and successful development of our youth, and to create and maintain safe communities and school environments.  Learn more at https://www.smartinc.org/!