MORRIS COUNTY — Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany cooked a homemade dinner at Homeless Solutions.

The Kiwanis Club has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past 18 years and have served over 7,000 meals. Members volunteer their time to shop, cook and serve the dinner.

Members Craig Eagleson and Gordon Meth recently cooked and served dinner for the clients of Homeless Solutions. Joining Craig and Gordon was Ava Eagleson.

The group of volunteers meet at Homeless Solutions to start preparing dinner for the guests in the transitional housing program. The crew cut the fruits, tossed salad, baked ziti with meatballs and rolls and served vanilla cheesecake for dessert. They also served iced tea and coffee. Other volunteer groups such as St. Ann’s Church, Kiwanis Club of Morristown, prepares dinner for the shelter on other days of the month. Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany has been providing meals to Homeless Solutions for the past eleven years.

Interested in learning more about the Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany, contact President Frank Cahill, by emailing flcahill@parsippanykiwanis.org.

Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany meets every Thursday at 7:15 a.m. at Empire Diner, 1315 Route 46. Join us for breakfast to learn more about our group of volunteers. Currently Kiwanis Club of Greater Parsippany is the largest club in New Jersey with 77 members.

he mission of Homeless Solutions is to offer shelter, services, and supportive housing to homeless and low-income people. For the homeless and working poor in our community, hope begins at Homeless Solutions, Inc. Homeless Solutions is a private, non-profit organization, helping those in need for past 30 years. In 2012, they served 267 people by providing emergency shelter and transitional housing. Their case managers offer the support needed to help the guests rebuild their lives and successfully return to independent living. They also develop permanent supportive housing that is energy efficient for very low, low, and moderate income families and individuals. They provided homes people can afford to 119 people in 2012. By supporting HSI through financial donations or volunteering, they are making a tangible difference in the lives of those most in need in our community. For more information on Homeless Solutions, click here.

Three Reason to Donate to Homeless Solutions:

When you donate to Homeless Solutions, you make a tangible difference in the life of someone in need in our community. Your donations –

Buy milk for children living in shelter.
Pay for childcare so a single parent can work.
Pay for gas for our shelter vans that take guests to public transportation to get to work and to medical appointments.

Click here to make a donation to Homeless Solutions.

MORRIS COUNTY — Bullying continues to take place, causing lasting scars for some children and teens. During National Bullying Prevention Month, NewBridge Services joins in the call for communities to take steps to stop all forms of bullying.

“No matter where you look, you’ll find incidents of bullying,” said Mary Vineis, director of Community Response and Education at NewBridge Services. “It is imperative to create a school culture that embraces people’s differences, addresses underlying issues that lead to bullying, and creates an expectation that the behavior won’t be accepted.”

NJ School Statistics on Bullying
Bullying in New Jersey’s public schools increased to more than 7,500 incidents during the 2017-2018 school year, and more than half of them took place in middle schools. That’s according to the most recent Student Safety and Discipline in New Jersey Public Schools report and an analysis by the Education Law Center. The ELC analysis found a 17 percent increase in Harassment, Intimidation & Bullying (HIB) incidents between the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years. Surveys have found that one in five students is bullied.

Bullying takes various forms, from physical abuse to verbal attacks and rumor-spreading, but always, the intention is to inflict harm. Children’s expanding access to cell phones, social media websites and software applications has contributed to cyberbullying. (Still, most bullying incidents occur on school grounds, the state report said.)

Bullying doesn’t only harm the victim, but also the perpetrator. Studies also show that children who bully are more likely to have problems holding down a job, struggle in relationships, become dependent on alcohol or drugs, and get in trouble with the law, Vineis said.

Learning to Resolve Conflicts
Of the 18,741 HIB investigations conducted in schools in the 2017-2018 school year, about 40 percent were deemed to be bullying incidents, the state report showed. “Often, what appears to be bullying is actually kids trying to solve conflicts without having the skills to do it,’’ Vineis said. “Adults need to teach kids tools to effectively resolve conflict.”

NewBridge offers in-school trainings that teach children ways to handle bullying and deal with conflict, and educators ways to create a safe environment. Students learn coping skills and approaches to building self-image so they are less susceptible to other people’s opinions. Children learn to react non-emotionally to hurtful words and to take power away from a student who is bullying by not engaging him. NewBridge also offers programs for parents, to let them know what the latest threats are and how best to cope with them.

What Students, Schools and Parents Can Do
Classmates can help defuse bullying by simply speaking up. A 2012 study found that when bystanders intervene, bullying stops within 10 seconds in more than half of incidents. “When bystanders say or do nothing, the kid who is doing the bullying may interpret that as them endorsing the behavior,” Vineis said.

One of the most important approaches for schools is to implement rules that delineate acts of bullying and the consequences of those acts.

At home, parents can seize on teachable moments, she said. If their child talks unkindly about another child, “call him on it. Ask him how he would feel if someone were saying something like that about him,’’ Vineis said. Doing so “provides an opportunity for him to have empathy.’’

Warning Signs
Here are warning signs from StopBullying.gov that indicate a child is being bullied, and others that a child may be doing the bullying:

Being bullied:
Unexplainable injuries
Lost or destroyed clothing, books, electronics, or jewelry
Frequent headaches or stomach aches, feeling sick or faking illness
Changes in eating habits, like suddenly skipping meals or binge eating
Difficulty sleeping or frequent nightmares
Declining grades, loss of interest in schoolwork, or not wanting to go to school
Sudden loss of friends or avoidance of social situations
Feelings of helplessness or decreased self esteem
Self-destructive behaviors such as running away from home, harming themselves, or talking about suicide

Bullying:
Gets into physical or verbal fights
Has friends who bully others
Shows increasingly aggressiveness
Gets sent to the principal’s office or to detention frequently
Has unexplained extra money or new belongings
Blames others for their problems
Doesn’t accept responsibility for their actions
Worries about their reputation or popularity

Here’s how children can help themselves
Treat everyone with respect. Stop yourself from saying or doing something that could hurt someone. And if you think you’ve ever bullied someone, say you’re sorry.
If you’re being bullied, look at the person who’s doing it and tell him or her to stop in a calm, clear voice. If you can’t, walk away. Talk to a trusted adult, who can help you make a plan to stop the bullying. Staying near adults and other kids can help you avoid bullying situations.
Stay safe online. Think about what you post, knowing someone could forward it. Don’t share anything that could hurt or embarrass someone. Don’t share passwords with friends or other classmates (but do share with your parents!) Check your security settings to ensure only the people you want to see your posts see them. If you get a message or see a post that alarms you, talk to a trusted adult.
Stand up for other kids. If you see bullying, let an adult know. Reach out to the person who was bullied so they know they are not alone.

For more information about in-school program provided by NewBridge, contact Vineis at (973) 686-2228 or click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Cara Parmigiani, the Democratic challenger for Morris County Freeholder, has earned the endorsement of the Transportation Workers Union of America, Local 100, which represents public transportation employees in the New York City metropolitan area.

“Public transportation is a critical cog in Morris County’s economic machine that allows our residents to commute to their jobs and support their families. We need to improve and expand our public transportation options to improve the quality of life of our commuting residents and staunch the exodus of younger generations out of Morris County because they cannot commute easily to their jobs,” Parmigiani said.

“Additionally, public transportation provides good jobs, and I am proud to have the support of the TWU, which ensures the integrity of these professions,” Parmigiani said. “The TWU makes sure our public transportation workers are properly trained, are protected in their workplace and receive fair compensation and retirement security. We must always be diligent in recognizing the role organized labor plays in sustaining our middle class and protect their rights to collective bargaining,” Parmigiani said.

The Transportation Workers Union of America represents employees working in bus and subway lines, as well as several airlines, nationwide. TWU Local 100 represents 41,000 public transportation employees in the New York City metropolitan area who operate and maintain subway trains and tracks, staff token booths, clean platforms and cars and repair mechanical equipment, such as elevators and escalators; drive and maintain public buses; and perform similar work with many private commuter transportation firms and school bus companies. Local 100 also represents 26,000 retired transportation workers.

Cara has appeared as an attorney in fifteen New Jersey counties in most divisions of the Superior Court. She has also appeared before various planning boards, zoning boards and municipal courts. Cara provided guidance for a Municipal Master Plan re-evaluation and served on her local Affordable Housing Advisory Committee. Cara represents patients in psychiatric facilities across the state. Cara is a graduate of Rutgers University and Seton Hall Law School. She lives with her wife and daughter in Morris Plains.

For more information click here.

MORRIS COUNTY — Representative Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11) hosted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), and local mayors yesterday to address flooding in the 11th District of New Jersey. Colonel Thomas Asbery from the USACE gave an update on flooding issues, and mayors from Passaic, Essex, and Morris Counties discussed the issues their towns currently face from repeat and intensifying flooding. Following the discussion, the group went to Two Bridges on Fairfield Road in Wayne for a site visit.

“With ongoing flooding issues in our communities, it was important to bring together the Army Corps of Engineers, the NJDEP, and local mayors who represent towns along the Peckman and Passaic Rivers,” said Representative Sherrill. “We need to address local flooding and major weather events, and our towns can’t tackle that alone. I will continue to work with our mayors on this issue because the problem of flooding is not going away.”

“We appreciate the leadership of Congresswoman Sherrill in bringing the community together to discuss flooding in the Passaic River Basin,” said NJDEP Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe.“Especially in the face of continued impacts from climate change, we understand the impact to life and property that chronic flooding causes for the residents of Passaic, Essex, and Morris counties. The DEP looks forward to continuing its work with all of our local and federal partners to explore ways to address these challenges as we endeavor to make New Jersey stronger and more resilient.”

“I am very happy that the Congresswoman convened this meeting,” said Wayne Township Mayor Christopher P. Vergano. “Any time we can have a discussion that moves the conversation on flooding forward is progress.”

“We hope that the meeting was beneficial to engage the local leaders on the challenges the basin faces and that the result of today allows us to move the study effort on a path forward,” said Colonel Asbery, USACE.

This is the second in a series of flood infrastructure meeting Representative Sherrill has convened since taking office. In February, Representative Sherrill held a Mayors’ roundtable to learn more about the innovative ways local leaders are tackling flood mitigation and the roadblocks they face.