Choices and challenges: A community wellness series

Undoubtedly, our youth today face significant challenges that are both real and evolving. Parents or other guardians may not notice the changes their children are experiencing until the situation has escalated. I believe we, as a community, have a responsibility to assess the at-risk activities our youth face and take a preventive maintenance approach. This Community Wellness Series is designed to prepare our parents and guardians with information and resources before a crisis happens. This is why other collaborative members and I have worked together to develop this wellness series. By attending, we hope to help parents, guardians, and other community members better understand the harmful risks our youth are reporting and experiencing here in Hancock County. Our goal is simple: raise awareness, build understanding, and provide practical tools related to youth safety and youth risk behaviors that affect our youth's overall well-being. The focus of this series, which makes it vital for our parents and guardians to attend, is that the information we are presenting is based on our own data collection from our youth, right here in Hancock County. The information was collected from the 2025 OHYES (Ohio Health Youth Environments) Survey results from Hancock County school districts. The premise of this wellness series is based on what our own students are telling us is happening in their world. If we understand the issues our youth are facing, we can better support them by being better prepared should it strike our home front. This series addresses areas that have an elevated risk of placing our youth in harmful ways. Each of the three wellness sessions will have experts and a discussion panel with guests who possess real-life knowledge. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. The wellness series will be offered at multiple locations throughout Hancock County, so community members can attend a date and location that best fits their schedules. The locations and dates are as follows: • Findlay High School — March 21 | 10 a.m. to noon • Arcadia High School — April 12 | 3–5 p.m. • Cory-Rawson High School — May 6 | 6–8 p.m. The wellness series will provide attendees with preventative measures they can take to help our youth and to serve as our youth's biggest advocate for wellness. When our parents, guardians, and school staff members are armed with knowledge, they can intervene sooner, ask those difficult questions, and help before the problem becomes a crisis. The wellness series is a proactive initiative to keep our youth safe, strengthen family ties, and create a healthier community right here in Hancock County. I hope you all can join us! Mike Cortez is Hancock County sheriff.