Amanda Greene Receives Hudson Valley Heroes Award

Mount Kisco Partners In Prevention volunteer parent representative Amanda Greene was recognized by the Mid Hudson Prevention Resource Center this month for her volunteer efforts in serving as parent liaison to the Bedford Central School District. The award was presented to Greene at an awards ceremony in Montgomery, NY in recognition of Greene's efforts to encourage students at Fox Lane Middle and High Schools to lead healthy, drug- and alcohol-free lifestyles.

“Amanda Greene is the sort of parent volunteer that every coalition wishes they had! A mother of three children in the community, Amanda has embraced our mission to create a healthier environment for all youth. With her gracious, yet tenacious demeanor, she has strengthened our partnership with the schools and parent community,” Domingo Maceira, LCSW-R, Coalition Coordinator.

Greene was instrumental in bringing “Hidden in Plain Sight” to Fox Lane High School, an interactive educational experience for parents where parents look through a teen's bedroom to test their knowledge of drug and alcohol references and paraphernalia and strengthen their observational skills. The program was co-sponsored by the Partnership, Fox Lane High School Association, and Student Assistance Services Corporation, which also created the simulated teen bedroom.

She was also instrumental in planning and implementing a Town Hall style meeting where the school superintendent presented data from the youth survey on drug and alcohol use trends reported by students. A group of community panelists then discussed strategies to meet the challenges raised.

Greene has advocated for the inclusion of the Partnership in many school functions and as a resource for the administration.

“One of the greatest challenges of being a parent today is to make sure we provide children and parents with fact-based information so that they can make informed decisions about drug and alcohol use. As parents, armed with knowledge and facts, we can help our children to make healthy choices and lead happier, healthier lives,” said Greene.

Greene's own teenage daughter wrote an essay about the risks of teen vaping, which ran in the Examiner newspaper as a Letter to the Editor. The essay focused on policy issues and community efforts that would help stem the tide of teen vaping. One policy option highlighted in her daughter's essay was a suggestion to raise the age of tobacco product purchases to 21 – a policy that was adopted by the Westchester County legislature.

Mount Kisco Partners in Prevention is a project of the Mount Kisco Drug Council and is one of Westchester’s several Drug Free Community (DFC) coalitions working to prevent and reduce drug use and underage drinking in their respective communities. They are funded by federal grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

“We are always looking for more parents to get involved in the Coalition,” said Maceira. For more information, call Maceira at 914-356-5569 or email him at dmcmkpartners@gmail.com.