These tools provide youth and young adults with honest, practical guidance on physical health, mental well-being, and building positive, strong, respectful relationships. It also offers support for caregivers and providers to help guide meaningful conversations. Whether you're learning to care for yourself or connect with others, these resources can help guide your path and make informed decisions.
For more information, please feel free to contact Heather Jones DCF Transitional Supports and Services.
Taking Care of Yourself
Understand how to take care of your physical, mental, and emotional health, manage stress and information to make healthy choices.
Healthy Meal Planning
- Figuring Out Food Labels: learn what's in your food and what you are eating kidshealth.org
- FoodSubs Cooking Encyclopedia: FoodSubs is a cooking encyclopedia that has thousands of ingredients cooking tools, and substitutions.
- Food Shopping & Meal Planning: Resources for meal planning, grocery shopping, and good budgeting to eat healthy.
- Smart Snacking: Helpful strategies to choose healthy snacks.
Home Maintenance
- Cleaning Tips for Young Adults: Making your first place your own.
- Fast and Efficient Home Cleaning Guide: Learn how to quickly and efficiently keep your home clean.
- How to Keep Apartment Clean - Tips and Cleaning Checklist: Helpful and manageable cleaning tips.
- My First Apartment Checklist: A printable list of items you will need to set up your apartment.
Internet Safety
- 11 Internet Safety Tips for Your Online Security
- Online Privacy and Security | Consumer Advice: How to protect your devices from hackers and threats, and online scams.
- Tips for Safe Social Networking for Teens: How to Stay Safe While on Social Media
Mental Health
- CT Support Group: An online support group locator to help teens and young adults search for emotional and mental health help.
- Crisis Text Line | Text HOME to 741741 Free, 24/7 Mental Health Support: Connect with a volunteer crisis counselor.
- I'm So Stressed Out! Feeling overwhelmed? Read this fact sheet to learn whether it's stress or anxiety, and ways to cope.
Physical Health
- Body Image and Self Esteem: Helping You Understand the Way You Feel About Yourself
- Conditions and Diseases: Learn more about health conditions and how they affect your body.
- CT Dental Health Partnership: Healthy Mouth Tips for Adolescents and Young Adults.
- How Can I Feel Better: People, Places, and Things that Help.
- Medical Self-Advocacy: Becoming Responsible for Your Medical Care is Part of Growing Up.
- Safety & First Aid for Teens: Learn more about staying safe and dealing with emergencies
- Signs and Symptoms of Illnesses: Information about common illnesses and how to treat them.
- Taking Care of Your Skin: Information and tips on skin issues and how to treat them.
- Your Changing Body: Get the basics on your changing body from head to toe.
Well-Being
- 10 Ways to Manage Everyday Stress You can't avoid stress, but here are some tips to help.
- 14 Mindfulness Exercises for All Ages: Learn relaxation techniques and other wellness tips to help with anxiety, stress and more.
- How Sleep Works and Why Sleep is So Important: Good sleep is so important and impacts more than you know! Learn more here.
- How To Calm Down When You're Anxious or Angry: Healthline.org This resource provides helpful tips to try now if you are feeling angry and/or anxious.
- Mindfulness: Learn tips to focus and live in the present.
- Why Exercise Is Wise: How exercise helps to improve your mood and health.
Sexual Health
- Get the Facts About Sexual Health: Important Information to Know
- HIV and AIDS Support: Ryan White Program: Information on HIV/AIDS resources, supports and services in your area.
- Should I Worry About Getting an STD? Learn how to protect yourself and be safe.
Substance Misuse
- Drugs: What You Need to Know. Information on drugs, how they affect you, and where to find support and treatment.
- Know Your Vape: Trying to quit? Find help to decide to quit, develop a plan, and locate support.
- National Smokefree Teen: Facts and Tips on how to become a smoke free teen.
- One Pill Can Kill: Taking pills not prescribed for you is dangerous and could be deadly.
- Prescription Drug Abuse: Learn more about why people abuse prescription drugs and where to get help.
- Prescription Medicine Safety: Resources for Teens & Tweens and how to safely use and store your own medication.
- Vape Free CT: If you want to quit, this link takes you to resources for tips and support.
- What Are Substance Abuse and Addiction: Learn the differences, how to help and get help.
- What Is Narcan (Naloxone)? What is Narcan, how it works, and how it can save a life.
- Naloxone Administration Resources | Youth Recovery CT Get addiction help and information about Narcan from Youth Recovery CT.
Suicide Prevention
- 988 Lifeline - If You Need Emotional Support, Reach Out to the National Mental Health Hotline: 988. Available 24-Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week.
- When a Friend Dies by Suicide: This link will provide helpful information and support on how to help yourself and your friends at a time like this.
Relationships & Communication
Explore tools and resources that help you build healthy relationships, communicate effectively, and strengthen the connections that support your success and well-being.
Relationships
- Building and Maintaining Good Relationships: Healthy relationships are important. Find out why and get tips on building skills in areas of compassion and understanding others.
- Friends and Relationships: Answers to some common questions about friends and other relationships.
- Relationships: This link has information on what makes a relationship healthy.
Dating Violence and Support
- Dangers of Sexting: Sexting is against the law. Learn more here and get tips on how to protect yourself.
- Is This Abuse? – Prudence Crandall: Types of abuse including examples are included in this link, plus how to get help.
- Love is Respect: Lean more about which relationships are healthy and unhealthy, and how to set healthy boundaries.
- Safe Place Info: Safe Place is where you can go to get immediate help in your community. Via this link, you'll be provided with the Safe Place information near you.
- Teen Dating Violence: Do you feel threatened in your relationship? Follow this link to lean about resources to help you in CT.
- Warning Signs – Prudence Crandall: Warning signs that you, or someone you know, may be in an abusive relationship. This link helps you find 24/7 assistance.
Communication
- Anger Awareness: This article helps you become more aware of your emotions and how you respond to others.
- Communicating with Family/Friends/School: Learn more about how your emotions impact your communication and responses with others.
- Communicating Safely Online: What you share online with others who may be friends, or not, is important. Be safe!
- Taking Charge of Anger: Learn more about what to do with your strong feelings.
Grief & Loss
Grief and Loss are feelings of deep sadness that comes after losing someone or something important. Below are some helpful links and tools to support you through it.
- 5 Ways to Cope When a Loved One Dies Ideas to help you cope with the loss of someone you love.
- The Children's Room: Online Resources and Peer Support for Grieving Teens: Resources to explore for teens and young adults who have lost a family member or friend.
- Tips for Teens Who are Grieving: Learn more about what changes after the loss of a loved one or friend, and the feelings you may experience.
Parenting & Childcare
Whether you are expecting, a new parent, or need help finding childcare, parenting tips, or help supporting your child's development, these links can help guide you to resources that can help.
Parenting Supports
- 4 Lessons About Success I Learned From Becoming a Teenage Father: Read about Jordan's path through teen fatherhood and lessons he has learned.
- 211 Diaper and Feminine Hygiene Banks: Enter your Zip Code to Locate Diaper Banks and more.
- Are You a Pregnant or Parenting Teen? CT In-State Resources from the Center for Children's Advocacy.
- Coping with a Crying Baby: Tips from CT DMHAS to help you cope and a link to resources for support.
- CT Early Childhood Parenting Support: Learn about parenting supports and find resources in your community.
- Dad University: I'm Becoming a Father at 17! Helpful tips, advice, and links for teen dads.
- Family Enrichment Center | The Hospital of Central Connecticut: A hospital support program providing specialized teen services and support to pregnant and parenting teens.
- Having a Healthy Pregnancy: Lean more about the importance of prenatal care, taking care of yourself, and more.
Childcare and Early Childhood Education Information and Tips
- Connecticut Birth to Three System: Learn more about the CT Birth to Three Program, and how to access this service, and resources for help and support.
- Connecticut Office of Early Childhood: This site helps with information on locating and paying for childcare, parenting supports, child development and more.
- CT Head Start Association: Learn about the Head Start program and find a program in your community.