WHERE OUR COMMUNITY FEELS SUPPORTED

The New Canaan YMCA is committed to supporting its community’s mental and physical health. Learn more about available health and well-being resources from the Y’s community partners and organizations across the country.

Mental Wellness is an integral aspect to overall community health. New Canaan Behavioral Health Alliance (NCBHA) encourages, develops, and supports a greater community awareness of behavioral health issues and resources in our area. Through community partnering, the alliance’s mission is to improve access to behavioral health care for New Canaan residents seeking help.

It can be difficult and overwhelming to find the right behavioral health support for a friend, family member, or yourself.  Over 30 local organizations have come together to make it easier to access behavioral health information and resources for New Canaan residents.  Talk to an expert that can help navigate available resources, or check out what’s going on in our community.

Five Days of Action^® is an annual, week-long campaign designed to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse.

Know the Facts

When evaluating camps, sports, and other activities for your child, do you KNOW what questions to ask about abuse prevention? As parents, caregivers, and trusted adults, we play a vital role in protecting children and teens from abuse. Learn the key questions to ask from Praesidium, the YMCA’s partner in child abuse prevention: praesidiuminc.com/6-key-questions-a-parent-should-ask-of-an-organization.

See the Signs

When we SEE grooming patterns—methodical, subtle, gradual, and escalating behaviors used to groom a child for sexual abuse—we can identify them, strengthen our intuition, and protect children. Learn the 6 grooming behaviors every parent or caregiver needs to know and what to do if you see them, from our partner, Saprea: saprea.org/blog/6-perpetrator-grooming-behaviors.

Respond & Teach

Responding starts when a child or teen feels heard and is helped. How can you take action to prevent child sexual abuse? The Trusted Triangle (for younger children) and the Safety NETwork (for older youth) are strategies from Lauren’s Kids Safer, Smarter Families Family Safety Toolkit. These resources are designed to help families and caregivers teach personal and digital safety in a comfortable and accessible way.

Grades K-2: safersmarterfamilies.org/grades-k-2

Grades 3-5: safersmarterfamilies.org/grades-3-5

Get Connected & Informed

After learning the importance of Know. See. Respond. we learned practical tools for preventing child sexual abuse—but our work is never done. The New Canaan YMCA is committed to year-round prevention, and we hope you are, too! Stay connected and informed by visiting fivedaysofaction.org

Pledge to Protect

Thank you for following along this week as we worked to build awareness of child sexual abuse and how all adults can prevent it.

As you know, the New Canaan YMCA has a long commitment to ensuring the children and youth we serve are safe and protected from abuse. As part of this commitment, and in addition to our existing trainings and policies, we are excited to announce that we are pursuing Praesidium Accreditation. Praesidium is a leader in abuse risk management and, for more than 30 years, has worked globally with thousands of organizations across industries to help them assess, prevent, and respond to sexual abuse of children and vulnerable adults.

We pledge to protect the children we serve, and we hope you will too! Head over to fivedaysofaction.org to sign the pledge & learn more!