Food, fun, prizes and lessons to be featured at Bristol County DA Quinn’s Annual Teen Safety Summit

Bristol County District Attorney Tom Quinn’s Annual Teen Safety Summit will take place Tuesday, May 23rd at the UMass Dartmouth Auditorium Student Center from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm. This one-day summit will focus on addressing a number of topics teens face every day. The target audience for this event is teens ages 13-18, school personnel, school resource officers, community police officers, parents and community members who work with teens every day. They will have dynamic keynote speakers and workshop presentations as well as food, fun and prizes! Light breakfast and full lunch will be provided. The event is being co-sponsored by the Bristol County Underage Substance Abuse Task Force and UMass Dartmouth.

The theme of this year’s summit is “Adulting 101.” Students will be coming from Taunton, Norton, Fall River, New Bedford, Dartmouth, Berkley, Mansfield, Easton, and Groton CT to participate.

After opening remarks to the students from District Attorney Quinn, the morning’s keynote address will come from Dr. Kathleen Mackenzie, an award-winning Clinical Social Worker. She is a Clinical Supervisor in New Bedford and teaches integrative health at Northeastern University. She also writes for Psychology Today and speaks nationally and internationally on the topic of youth mental health.

Workshop tracks and breakout sessions for the students this year will feature financial literacy discussions by BayCoast Bank and HarborOne Bank, Cooking 101 hosted by UMass Dartmouth Culinary/Dining Team and discussions about mental health, wellness, substance abuse, safety, bullying and more.

The afternoon keynote speaker will be Jacqueline Jones, Co-Founder of Harambee Learning and Cultural Center: She will provide participants with the tools, confidence and strategies to participate in civic engagement.

Goal of the summit is to get kids think about the future in a realistic and meaningful way. The resource tables this year will include traditional service providers as well as post graduate options like community college, trade options, and armed forces.

Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan and other local leaders will also be in attendance.