Troubled Teens Resources

Teen crisis intervention in the areas of alcohol abuse sometimes seems to make little progress.

“The “fight” against teen alcohol abuse is a joke in this region. And every teen knows it.

They can get booze whenever they want. They can party all they want. And if they get caught, sure there will be a court summons and a bit of adult handwringing and lecturing about it, but mom and dad will fix it. No need to worry. They’ll accuse the authorities of wanting to destroy a kid’s future by putting a blot on his or her record, and the authorities will back down. Maybe a fine, but nothing worse than that.”

Unfortunately, the lack of progress in some communities can be directly attributed to parents who are indifferent to teenage drinking or actively supply the alcohol.

“And the answer to that lies in police logs around the region. It lies with parents who blame the cops, the schools, the newspapers - anybody but themselves and their children - for a teen drinking epidemic. They are asking for more than trouble. They are asking for tragedy.”

The writer goes on to quote from the police log which records one under age drinking party after another, many all to often presided over by an adult.

“In February, Salisbury police arrest 14 teens from Newburyport, Haverhill and elsewhere on the North Shore, after a celebration of a victory by the Bishop Fenwick High School swim team gets out of hand. The homeowner is on vacation at the time - his 22-year-old son is host of the party.

In March, Hamilton police charge a 39-year-old woman with hosting an underage drinking party for 20 kids, ranging in age from 14 to 20.”

(Source)

Teens at risk do not need any additional help from immature and irresponsible adults. But it seems role models and leadership are, too often, sadly lacking.