June is Pride Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the contributions, history, and resilience of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community. Alongside parades and other celebrations, Pride Month can also be a meaningful time for young people to share their identities with family and friends. 

This Know! Tip provides guidance for navigating these conversations with care, compassion, and openness.

With more free time during the summer, kids often spend extra hours on their phones, raising concerns about cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and screen overuse. While social media poses risks, it also offers ways to explore interests, connect, and express creativity. 

This summer is a chance to start open, supportive conversations about social media, mental health, and setting healthy boundaries together. Check out our talking tips to spark meaningful conversations with young people by clicking the button below.

During school breaks or weekends, many parents hear the familiar complaint: “I’m bored.”But there is good news: boredom isn’t a bad thing! In fact, it’s an important part of childhood. When kids have unstructured time, they develop crucial life skills like problem-solving, emotional regulation, frustration tolerance, creativity, flexibility, and independence.

This Know! Tip provides practical ways to help kids turn boredom into opportunities for creativity, growth, and discovery.

Scott Bone, LPCC, is the Head of Strategic Partnerships at Emerald Psychiatry. He is dedicated to connecting more people with the mental health care they need when they need it. Through strategic partnerships, he helps organizations improve access to care and achieve meaningful outcomes. Scott joined the Board to help expand prevention and treatment opportunities and create healthier communities across the country.

Kathryn Tummino, MPH, OCPS, serves as Project AWARE District Coordinator and CMHI Project Director for multiple Ohio recovery boards. She joined the PAA Board to contribute a broad systems perspective and help the field of prevention mature to stay relevant and viable. To Kathryn, prevention is essential because it provides the structures and conditions that make positive choices practical and desirable for everyone.

Maxwell E. Warner serves as Communications Specialist for the Office of Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro. He is passionate about strengthening communities and connecting people with the resources, information, and opportunities they need to thrive. Maxwell joined the Board to help advance prevention efforts that support well-being and create healthier, more resilient communities. To him, prevention is about empowering individuals with the knowledge and support they need to achieve positive outcomes and improve their quality of life.

Date: June 17, 2026

Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: IC & RC Prevention Domain: 1

Great Lakes PTTC invites you to a session designed to help participants better use the tools at their disposal to measure outcomes and tell a clearer, more compelling story of their work.

Participants will learn how their logic models can help them connect strategies to measurable results and identify the “right” data to collect to demonstrate progress. The session will also explore what it looks like to work with an evaluator, including when to engage one, how to find the right fit, and how to build a strong, collaborative partnership.

Date: June 18, 2026

Time: 8 AM - 4:30 PM

Location: 10190 Blacklick-Eastern Rd NW, Pickerington, OH

CEUs: Prevention, Social Work, and Counseling

Cost: $44.52

For the 4th year, OSPF hosts the summit, uniting the Ohio community, leaders, & youth to share strategies supporting mental wellness in the Black community.
This event promotes cross-generational collaboration and equips communities with resources to support hope, healing, and long-term resilience through engaging keynote sessions, interactive workshops, and skill-building opportunities. Youth ages 15–24 and participants of all ages will gain tools to foster resilience, encourage help-seeking, and strengthen support networks within their communities.

Date: June 24, 2026

Time: 1:00 - 1:45 PM

Location: Virtual

HECAOD is hosting a You Bet? facilitator Training specifically for professionals in Ohio. You Bet? is a gambling harm prevention program designed specifically for college students. This interactive program is designed to be delivered in person to students by trained facilitators, often health and well-being professionals on campus.

After the three-hour training, participants will be You Bet? facilitators and ready to deliver this impactful, evidence-based program. This "Train the Facilitator" session will fully prepare you to deliver a 45-minute student-facing workshop. All facilitators will receive instructions to access facilitator materials after successful completion of the training.

Questions? Email Logan Davis at davis.5966@osu.edu. 

Date: June 30, 2026

Time: 1:00 - 4:15 PM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: Prevention, CHES - 3 hours - Domain P3

Join OCAM for “Finding and Using Your Voice: Advocating for Prevention!" This webinar is designed to empower beginner prevention professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to advocate effectively for prevention practices. Discover the pivotal role that prevention professionals play in advocating for the field of prevention, while learning practical strategies for promoting prevention practices to diverse audiences, from policymakers to community members and other key stakeholders.

Date: Starts July 7, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM - 4:15 PM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: 24 Hours in Prevention/CHES (3 hours in each Prevention Domain)

Join OCAM for this 8-part series for new prevention professionals. Participants are expected to attend all sessions and will receive 24 CEUs to be used toward an OCPSA credential. This training series is designed for participants with less than one year of experience in prevention and who have already achieved Registered Applicant status. Participants will gain knowledge of basic prevention theory and its application in communities. 

This series meets weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1PM-4:15 PM on the following dates: 

July 7th, 9th, 14th, 16th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, and 30th

Date: July 9, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: IC & RC Prevention Domain: 1

Join Great Lakes PTTC for this 90-minute interactive webinar. Substance misuse prevention professionals will learn how the principles, tools, and approaches to continuous quality improvement (CQI) can optimize their prevention work. Additionally, we will discuss how to incorporate the key tools of CQI – including the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle – into all phases of your prevention work to ensure your programs are efficient and effective, and stay on track. We will explore the application of CQI throughout the Strategic Prevention Framework process with a focus on the implementation phase.

Date: July 10, 2026

Time: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Location: Kemba Credit Union Community Center, West Chester, OH

CEUs: Available

Cost: $32 if seeking CEUs; free for general attendance 

Join Black Women Cultivating Change for a powerful day of education, connection, and healing at the 4th Annual Black Mental Health Summit—a transformative experience designed to uplift, inform, and empower our community. 

This year’s summit brings together dynamic speakers, mental health professionals, and community leaders to engage in meaningful conversations on critical topics affecting Black communities, including Maternal Mental Health; Veterans Mental Health; Cultural Trauma & Healing; and Suicide Prevention & Awareness.

Date: July 14 2026

Time: 1:00 - 2:30 PM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: IC&RC Prevention Domains: 2 and 4

Join Great Lakes PTTC for this 90-minute webinar, which will focus on shifting from expecting people to come to you to reaching them where they already are. Drawing from real-world prevention efforts across multiple communities, we’ll explore strategies that meet people in their daily lives, at events, in shared spaces, and through culturally relevant touchpoints. Participants will gain practical, actionable approaches to increase engagement, strengthen partnerships, and drive meaningful impact without relying solely on traditional outreach methods.

Date: July 21, 2026

Time: 1:00 - 3:00 PM

Location: Virtual

CEUs: IC&RC Prevention Domains: 3 and 4

Join Great Lakes PTTC for this training,  designed to help experienced substance use prevention professionals move beyond traditional capacity-building and sector-based partnerships. Rather than focusing on who to partner with, we’ll dig into how prevention can be embedded within complex, often unfamiliar systems—such as healthcare, mental health, education, business, and civic institutions.

Date: August 26, 2026

Time: 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM

Location: The Ohioan Hotel and Event Center

Cost: Early bird price through 6/30 is $200; regular rate is $250

CEUs: Optional for an additional cost

The Health Policy Institute of Ohio will host the third annual statewide Health Policy Summit.

The theme this year is "Meeting the Moment: Using Data for Policy Progress." The Summit will draw on insights from HPIO’s 2026 Health Value Dashboard to focus on the factors that drive population health and healthcare spending, and to build momentum for policy priorities that improve health and well-being for Ohioans. 

OCI serves as a hub for connection, capacity-building, and shared learning. In this newsletter, readers will gain:

• Actionable insights from real-world coalition success stories
• Curated resources and tools to support your coalition work

Boost your bottom line and improve your staff's well-being and productivity by making your company a champion of recovery! Join employers across Ohio by creating a supportive environment for employees recovering from mental health and substance use challenges.

Discover upcoming PAA events, trainings, and conferences designed to support prevention efforts and community impact!

Want to dive deeper into prevention? Explore our program newsletters to learn more, get involved, and advocate for prevention. Sign up today!

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PREVENTION ACTION ALLIANCE

Address:  P.O. Box 340072, Columbus, OH 43234

Phone: (614) 230-4228