Hope Over Habit

About Us

Anna DiGregorio

Corinne Bailey

Audrey Buonomano

Casey Clasby

I am Anna DiGregorio, and I am attending Holliston High School as a sophomore. I would consider myself a hard-working individual with some volunteer experience. I am a part of three different clubs: Humanitarian Club, Words of Warmth, and Leos Club. I chose this topic to be my capstone project because I’ve seen what addiction does to families and individuals. I also have a lot of experience with the youth, considering that I am an older sister, and I have a lot of experience with babysitting.

I am Corinne Bailey, I have the ability to stay patient and understanding with people of all ages. These qualities come with being an older sister and taking care of younger children in general. I also have a good amount of experience of working around the community such as babysitting in my neighborhood and volunteering for the Leos club. My skills would be beneficial to our project for many reasons. Firstly, my patience and understanding is what addicts need when looking for a support system. They are consistently looking for opinions and help with judgement.

I am Audrey Buonomano, and currently a sophomore at Holliston High School. I want to contribute to bettering the community around us to the best of my ability. I have lots of experience with volunteering as I am a member of the Humanitarian, Leos, and Marine Conservation clubs here in Holliston. My experience provides me with the ability to be hardworking and patient with all.

I'm Casey Clasby, and I am currently a sophomore at Holliston High School. I'm a member of the Leos Club, Humanitarian Club, Make-A-Wish, and Words of Warmth, which have provided me with numerous volunteer opportunities and have taught me a great deal about my community. I've always been an empathetic person, which allows me to be understanding of others' situations. When it comes to talking about substance misuse, I'm able to listen judgment-free and understand that addiction is a disease, not a choice

What is the community need we are targeting?

We have created a service learning project that aims to address the link between substance abuse and mental health in young kids. With the growing number of people overdosing and losing their lives to drug abuse our project is designed to prevent the thought of using drugs before drugs are used. We chose this community need because drug abuse is, unfortunately, very common and we have known people who were abusing drugs and have lost their lives.

Our Research

Our PSA

Our Project Goals and Progress

As a team, we want to spread awareness on the topic of drug abuse and support the prevention of drug abuse, as well as encourage those who are struggling to reach out. We have this website and our fundraiser to help us reach these goals. The main idea that we are focusing on is prevention by looking in on the link between mental health and drug misuse. We have put together a website with resources for those struggling with substance misuse along with interviews with knowledgeable people. So far we have interviewed Zoe Moreau who is a key leader in Holliston Drug and Alcohol Coalition as well as Sunshine Scotty, a recovered addict who shared key aspects of his experience with us. Along with this we have organized a fundraiser to raise money in order to put together stress relieving goodie bags for the youth in our town to push for healthy coping strategies.

Community Partnerships

Holliston Drug and Alcohol Coalition

HDAAC is a local group that does many education presentations, student speaker events, and more in hopes to limit substance misuse. They provide resources and support to people in the community along with a lot of education. We have formed a relationship with them through Zoe Moreau and they continue to help our project everyday. Zoe has provided data, people to contact, planning ideas, some funding, and so many opportunities.

Synergy Cycle

Synergy Cycle is a local cycling studio who our group is already familiar with. They are very supportive of our cause and therefore we chose to partner with Synergy Cycle to host a fundraiser ride. This workout session is a fun and easy way to raise money that will be put towards our project goals.

Holliston Public Schools

Holliston Public Schools have also been a very helpful resource for information and opportunities for our project. The school system in Holliston consistently helps out groups for Service Learning making our partnership very effective. We have spoken to counselors for ideas and reference points. Along with using our schools 3D printer to be able to go through with our care packages. In the future we also hope to be able to special events with the Middle School.

What our Community Can Do To Help

It is important to be aware if the people in your life start acting different, using them as warning signs. Its important to ensure that you educate yourself on this important topic, while making sure others are also aware of such a severe problem like this. Creating spaces where people can be comfortable to have a conversation about such a sensitive topic like this is very important, so by providing local resources for people to turn to in times of need is crucial.

See our posts on Instagram @hollistonhopeoverhabit for more details like information and events!! (recent posts are below)

Also check out our personal website at:

https://sites.google.com/students.holliston.k12.ma.us/hopeoverhabit/home

Our Fundraiser

Our fundraiser was very successful! Everyone that came had a lot of fun and the process was very smooth. There were no complaints and most said that they would love to to something similar again. Our group raised over $600 and we also handed out the flyer from above. With the money we plan to buy resources to put into a mental health care package. This will be things such as fidgets, candy, plushies, and more. They are being handed out to middle schoolers in our town to promote healthy habits. Additionally, there were extra flyers from the event and we will print even more to hand out and post around the school.

Our Care Packages

Part of our project included organizing a fundraiser and using the money to create care packages. These care packages are filled with fidgets, plushies, and informational notes. They are being given to Robert Adams Middle School, specifically the 7th graders and the guidance counselor's office. The bags are meant to provide coping strategies for stress starting at a young age. Along with that, our information guide in each package includes where to find help and acknowledges the fact that the kids are included in a supportive community. Not feeling alone and instead knowing who to turn to decreases the chances of children reaching out to substances to cope with their feelings. Our hope is to give kids resources early and help them to manage their strong feelings and fears.

Page updated

Report abuse