Resources

Require Assistance Meeting Basic Needs?

For families needing additional assistance due to financial hardship, cuts to the SNAP program, or other programs previously provided by NC DHHS (Medicaid), please use the link below to search for an organization in our area that may be able to help. If your child has NC Medicaid for their health insurance, please also reach out to the member service number on the back of their insurance card. Each Medicaid plan is able to offer varying services to meet their members’ needs.

Dosing Charts

Be Safe Campaign

Please see the resources below for safe storage of firearms, including for family members that are a suicidal risk.

Digital Media Recommendations

Digital media companies sell your child’s attention (or childhood) to other companies seeking an audience to advertise their products. Digital media companies invest millions in engineering their platforms to promote “user engagement” (or addiction), and they have been very successful.

With respect to social media, in June of 2024, the US Surgeon General wrote:

The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor. Adolescents who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms, and the average daily use in this age group, as of the summer of 2023, was 4.8 hours. Additionally, nearly half of adolescents say social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. It is time to require a surgeon general’s warning label on social media platforms, stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents.

As weaning a child from digital media is very difficult, it is best not to let it become a habit. Instead of screens, encourage your child to engage in reading books, active and unstructured play and SEVERELY LIMITING ACCESS TO DIGITAL MEDIA via the following plan:

We recommend the following media plan:

0 – 2yo:
· No digital media or screen time prior to 2yo

3yo and up:
· Caregivers set good examples by following these rules as well
· Don’t bring video game consoles into your home. They are EXTREMELY habit forming and likely will result in years of friction between you and your child

Protect Childhood
· Limit non-school related digital media to 1 hour per day, and only after 1 hour of physical activity, homework is complete, and bedroom is clean.
· No smartphones until high school
· No social media until 16yo

Protect Homework and Family Time
· No entertainment media while doing homework or eating with family

Protect Time for Sleep
· No digital media in the 1 hour before bedtime

· Disable internet 30min prior to bedtime
· No screens in bedrooms
· Charge devices in parent or caregiver’s bedroom

Buncombe County Zoom Pass