By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

Independence Township – Clarkston Area Youth Assistance held its annual meeting Oct. 20 during a breakfast event at the Clarkston Community Schools administration building.
During the program, board members, staff and volunteers were recognized, while guest speakers included CCS Superintendent Dr. Shawn Ryan and Oakland County Youth Assistance Chief Liz Csizmadia. CAYA caseworker Lauren Klos and treasurer John Nicholson also spoke, giving updates on CAYA initiatives and projects.
Jan Scislowicz, CAYA chairperson, announced two Community Awards recipients – Henry Woloson from the David W. Elliott Memorial Foundation and Chris Strong from Waterfall Jewelers – for their work with local youth.
Klos spoke on how working with youth has changed since the Oxford tragedy of nearly a year ago, and noted this in CAYA’s annual report.
“The 2021-22 school year brought challenges, but also a new sense of passion for prevention work,” Klos said. “After the school shooting tragedy at Oxford High School in November, I received a phone call from a family of a recently closed case. I had worked with the student and guardian for a long time and offered a great deal of resources, support, conversations, meetings, and encouragement while the case was open. The guardian called me after the Oxford incident to tell me how the situation got him thinking about his own student and that he couldn’t help but wonder how much of CAYA’s and the school’s support helped prevent his student from going down the wrong path. That phone call shook me and rocked my world. It made me realize just how incredibly important and vital our prevention work is here at Youth Assistance. And while I still face many challenges within doing casework with families, being reminded this past year of the importance of prevention has fueled me more than ever before.
“What we do at CAYA isn’t just about the numbers, but it’s about the lives that we touch and change forever. Over the past year in Casework, there were numerous students who learned more about the risks of vaping, alcohol, and drug use by completing research projects, participating in the Prime for Life class, or watching anecdotal videos about real-life young adults who struggled with substance abuse. Others shifted their focus from going along with the crowd to fit in, to making better decisions for themselves and focusing on their future goals. There have also been several parents who received support by learning different parenting approaches and engaging in helpful parenting resources, many of whom told me that the fresh ideas helped change their home atmosphere for the better and improve family relationships.
“We may never know the full outcome of our interaction with a particular family, but we know that it makes a difference. From small changes to big ones, it all counts toward strengthening a family for the better. Prevention matters.”
During April’s Pinwheels for Prevention program, 1,714 blue pinwheels were planted in 64 gardens, and over 8,000 pinwheel bookmarks were distributed to Clarkston Community Schools, local public libraries, businesses, and churches.
“Our blue pinwheels now have more work to do – developing collective community knowledge that empowers community members to help prevent and mitigate child and adolescent adversity,” said Pinehweels chairperson Judy Parnes in the report. “It is time to connect the dots between child and adolescent adversity and community well-being, where children and youth flourish. There is much to discover and uncover.”
Again this school year, the CAYA Homework Club will be up and running.
Modifications have been made to the format of the club because of the loss of volunteers during COVID, said Scislowicz. A supervised learning environment rather than one-on-one tutoring will be offered. Over the past few years, the club has been able to host Pine Knob Elementary School’s Reading and Social Emotional Learning programs during the summer as well as holiday gift giving.
“We will be working with third-fifth graders after school in an apartment donated by Bridgewater Park Apartments,” explained Scislowicz in the report. “The students will be met by a volunteer at the bus stop after school and accompanied to the apartment. I have often been the lucky recipient of their hugs and lively banter when greeting them at the bus stop. At the club, they will receive their snack, talk about their day, and transition into working on homework and/or supplemental learning such as reading and math. The club will be meeting once a week for an hour. Our challenge is to find more volunteers so that we can offer more time to work with the kids.”
“The Homework Club is a fun and fulfilling environment for volunteers. Just one hour per week of your time can make a world of difference to a child.”
For more info, visit caya-mi.org or email caya@clarkston.k12.mi.us.

PHOTO: CAYA Vice Chairperson Jackie Fromm presents Henry Woloson, of the David W. Elliott Memorial Foundation, with his Community Award at the CAYA Annual Meeting on Oct. 20. Photo: Matt Mackinder