Families First Event Promotes Crime Prevention, Good Health

The West Side Youth Development Coalition, a program sponsored by Buffalo State’s Center for Health and Social Research, is partnering with West Side Community Services (WSCS) to host a free event, “Families First—Day into Night Out,” on Tuesday, August 7, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. at 161 Vermont Street in Buffalo.

Meant to promote crime-free neighborhoods and healthy families, “Families First” will be held in conjunction with National Night Out. The 100 youth who attend the WSCS summer programming are invited to attend with their families.     

Activities will be centered around healthy behaviors and include games that teach children how to make positive choices. Participants also will be taught the basics of crime prevention, emergency preparedness, and bicycle safety. They each will receive a folder with pertinent information to share with their families.  

The groups leading the activities include members of the Erie County Sheriff’s Mounted Division, the Buffalo Police Department, Buffalo State’s Community Academic Center and Center for Health and Social Research, West Side Neighborhood Housing Services, and Border Community Services.

In addition to the Center for Health and Social Research and WSCS, other event sponsors include Upstate New York Transplant Services (UNYTS), West Side Neighborhood Housing Services, Amici Lodge, and Erie County Legislator Betty Jean Grant.

For more information, call Danette Porto at West Side Community Services, (716) 884-6616, or Marla Fulton at the Center for Health and Social Research at (716) 878-6137.