Youth and Family Alternatives Inc.

Youth and Family Alternatives is an organization that helps troubled youths and their families. They have locations throughout the Suncoast Region that offer different kinds of programs. The organization's website states that Youth and Family Alternatives is a "a leading provider of community-based care service and services to truant, runaway and ungovernable youth and their families in west central Florida." They offer substance abuse prevention and intervention service, community-based care services, runaway/youth crisis services and family counseling. Locations are available in east and west Pasco County. Services vary by location. Examples of their programs include: CASA (Child Adolescent Substance Abuse), a substance abuse intervention program designed to provide counseling services to youth ages 8 through 17 who are at risk of substance abuse and for youth who may already be experimenting with substances, the Parenting Program, which provides in-home validation services for parenting skills as well as monitoring of reunifications through a parenting coordinator who is referred to validate parenting classes taken through various approved parenting programs, and Youth Crisis Shelters, short term shelters that aid runaways and other youth who need a temporary place to stay. These are just a sampling of the programs administered by Youth and Family Alternatives. To gain more information about Youth and Family Alternatives click on the link to their website under "Community/Social Organizations."

Pasco Sheriff Dispatch Log

Ever wonder what kinds of calls the sheriff's office receives from your neighborhood? Wanna know what kind of activity is going on in your area? You can get an idea by viewing the dispatch log of the Pasco County Sheriff. The log can be reviewed by date, street, or subdivision. To access the database, simply go to the Pasco County Sheriff's Homepage at http://pascosheriff.com/webapps/index.pgm

From the homepage, click on either the dispatch log or subdivision activity icon at the left of the page under online resources. If you go in under dispatch log, you can search the dispatch database by call number, date or street name or a combination of the three. If you search by subdivision, you can use the previous three parameters or choose the subdivision you live in.

Give it a peek. It's a good idea to know what's going on in your neighborhood.

West Pasco Historical Society

There's a great resource in Pasco County if you are looking for local history. The West Pasco Historical Society at 6431 Circle Blvd in New Port Richey is just that place. The Society consists of a museum and library which houses many permanent collections of early businesses and residences. The building the Society is housed in was once the Seven Springs school house. The Society's library "it is primarily used by historians searching for details of early settlers and historical facts concerning local areas, the county, and the State of Florida. It also contains a large selection of photographs and maps" (Historical Society website). If you are in need of local history, the Society is indeed a great place to visit. The Society also houses a gift shop stocked with work from area artisans. If you'd like to visit, give them a call at 727-847-0680.
Their visiting hours are very specific, so be sure you call ahead or visit their website to find out when they are open. You can click on their link under "History/Genealogy."

Pasco County 211

Pasco County 211 is such a valuable tool to the residents of Pasco that mentioning it from time to time is a necessity. So, here we go again. This great resource can aid just about everybody in the county and is run by the United Way of Pasco. 211 provides program information for a variety of topics from abuse to education to wildlife. If you need food bank information or G.E.D. resources, you can find some through Pasco County 211. You can access this resource via the web (just click on the United Way/211 link at the top of the page), or you can call the United Way (727-845-4357 in West Pasco or 1-877-828-8929 for East and Central Pasco).