Apr 18, 2022 4 min read

Some students at Monessen Middle School are experiencing the effects of positive action.

They are involved in the school’s program that is simply titled, “Positive Action,” which is being offered through a partnership of the Monessen School District, Monessen Public Library, Monessen Communities That Care and California University of Pennsylvania.

Positive Action is a national curriculum-based program in which instruction is provided to promote a healthy and positive lifestyle.

Mathilda Spencer, associate professor in the department of criminal justice and psychology at Cal U., said the students are involved in three days of after-school activity – two at the middle school and one day at the library.

“The theme is, you can handle everything in a positive manner,” Spencer said. “Positive action is, ‘Let’s think it through, let’s look at how we can handle this.'”

Darla Holmes, program coordinator, said about 15 to 20 students have been participating on a regular basis.

“We need after-school programs,” Holmes said. “We need community programs. We need all of those programs to become partners and work together for the betterment of our future. Our children are our future. We need to sit down and listen to them and help them to navigate these waters but also to chart their own course.”

Holmes said one of the philosophies of Monessen Positive Action is Help Us Grow, or HUG.

“I came up with that because I’m a hugger,” Holmes said. “I tell them by you hugging me, it helps me to grow. You never stop growing. You never stop learning.”

The program began in 2020 with a $159,000 grant from Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency to cover it for two years through the end of the current school year.

Recently, the Richard King Mellon Foundation approved a grant of $232,000, which will keep it going for two more years. And a $21,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Westmoreland County allows the program to continue in the summer.

“We’re going to do a program in the summer about drugs (and) alcohol, making sure that the kids have the skills to deal with those kinds of issues that are absolutely in our community,” Spencer said.

Holmes said the students will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the summer for a day of instruction and another with speakers.

Communities That Care became involved since Monessen Positive Action as a program that matches its mission of providing research-based programming and outreach to the youth and families of Monessen.

“To me, it’s like watching a miracle unfold,” said Teresa Seh, mobilizer for Monessen Communities That Care. “I see the benefits of it every week. They’re being taught life skills about managing their emotions and making healthy choices for their lives. But what I think their getting out of it the most is connecting with adults. It has lifelong impacts. The proof is they keep showing up.”

Other grants have been received to help advance a positive lifestyle in the areas of physical and mental fitness.

Kids of Steel, a youth introductory running program that helps motivate children and their families to lead healthy and active lifestyles, recently presented a $1,000 grant to Monessen Positive Action, which will allow the students to participate in the 1-mile Chick-fil-A Pittsburgh Kids Marathon on April 30.

“We’re trying to get them to be active,” Holmes said. “We’re trying to get them out of that sedentary phone mode that they’re all in.”

Step Up Westmoreland has presented $3,650 for programs geared to mental health awareness.

Two Cal U. students – Kaylee Hackinson of Monongahela and Josh Kramer of Baldwin – as well as Monessen resident Julian Naphier are facilitators of the Monessen Positive Action.

“Their job description is to run the program,” Holmes said. “They’re students dealing with students and that can be a great way of reaching the middle school students.”

So far, that seems to be happening.

“I’m really excited about the program,” Spencer said. “The kids really are thriving. They’re still enjoying it. We’re hoping we can increase our numbers, by offering tutoring, by getting teachers involved and getting them to make referrals. Monessen is such a great community. Everybody is out there doing the work.”