Who didn’t feel disconnected from their community during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic? SRSLY Dexter certainly did. To remedy this, leaders at SRSLY Dexter hosted a Community Conversations event with the Dexter District Library on Thursday, Dec. 1. This event brought adults together to discuss important topics that Dexter youth and families face every day.
“During the pandemic, SRSLY Dexter was not able to work with adults and youth in Dexter Schools, and we couldn’t do most of our indoor programming. So we lost a lot of our connections in the community over the last two years,” Chrissie Kremzier, SRSLY Dexter Coalition Director said.
“A parent in our Adult Steering Committee came to us with concerns that during the pandemic, parents and adults couldn't talk together about how best to support teens and children. She had the idea of providing a place for adult community members to come together to support each other. We loved this idea and ran with it.”
During this event, participants shared their thoughts on youth substance use and mental health in Dexter. They also talked together about if, how and when parents should talk to their children about these topics. SRSLY leaders will use information gathered during the conversation to help shape their programming moving forward.
“Not only are these connections important for Dexter community members, but their input is invaluable in helping us learn how we can best support parents and other Dexter adults in supporting youth,” Kremzier said.
According to SRSLY leaders, the conversation was so lively that they didn’t discuss all the questions they prepared. Continuing this conversation is clearly worth it.
SRSLY Dexter and the Dexter District Library plan to host another Community Conversations event this winter. SRSLY Dexter hopes more people can join next time so that even more voices are heard.
Want to be part of the conversation? More information about Community Conversations will be included on the Dexter District Library website, on SRSLY Dexter’s Instagram and Facebook, and on SRSLYDexter.org. You can also reach out to SRSLY Dexter by emailing info@srslydexter.org.