Troubled Teens Resources

Parents are already likely aware of the newest and startling report detailing the state of teen age drug abuse and the rampant amount of prescription drug abuse by teens at risk. The most startling aspect of the report, however, was not the alarming numbers of offending teens but that parents are either, for the most part, unaware or indifferent.

“Despite indications that most parents have their heads firmly planted in the sand (if not buried somewhere even less pleasant), 4 out of 5 high school students say they are regularly exposed to drugs in their schools.”

Those whose duty it is to collect the collapsed and comatose bodies of overdosed American teens are not very surprised and offer very basic counsel that parents need to start heeding.

“For those of us in the EMS fields, this may not come as much of a surprise. Even in my supposedly protected rural area, I am always taken aback by the number of overdose calls we get at local schools. The most important warning that comes from this report is that the parents seem to be completely unaware of the this increasing trend in their children’s schools. We can do two things:

1. Take care of our own first. Talk regularly and often with your own children about drugs in their schools. What drugs do they come in contact with?
2. Get involved in your community education projects. Talk to your local police agencies about what drugs they are seeing more commonly on the street this year. Arrange to provide assistance to their school outreach programs with a demonstration of the life-saving techniques we will have to use in the case of an overdose.”

(Source)

Teen age drug abuse claims yet another life. Randomly, almost casually, troubled teenagers everyday are dying from drugs. Everyday there are countless articles describing yet another overdose, murder or rape - all attributable to drugs and drug addicts. It is amazing to consider that today’s teens never lived in a world where drug deaths were just simply rare. Where addiction was cause for shame. Where the drug death of a 17 year old girl getting high with old men was not common.

“A grand jury has indicted two men on charges that they gave a 17-year-old girl a lethal combination of drugs during the hours leading to her death.
[…].
The six charges include first-degree murder, second-degree murder and child abuse as well as counts that accuse the two men of providing Ochoa with cocaine, marijuana and Hydrocodone, a pain reliever related to codeine.
[…]
A witness told authorities that at 2 a.m. they went to the home and started drinking beer, according to a Pinal County Sheriff’s Office report.
As time progressed, Ochoa used cocaine, took a pill, snorted a medication and smoked marijuana, the witness told investigators.
About 7 a.m., medical personnel were called for help after blood was seen coming from Ochoa’s nose and mouth, the report says.
She was flown by medical helicopter to a Mesa hospital, where she was pronounced dead.”

(Source)

Teen crisis intervention always seems to be the result of a grass roots effort by parents who simply can’t take it anymore. And though the internet is a great concern for most parents, it has also been an excellent way for parents of troubled teenagers to organize and communicate.That is how Parent Team was put together.

“On the fourth of July, Knee took her son to be tested at Chapman Medical Center and found five drugs in his system, $1,500 in his pocket and a pack of drugs hidden in their house.

Knee took action; she set up a Web site and began “Parent Team.”

The goal is to create a communication circuit and support system among parents to break down the teens’ network. “There are a lot of people who want to know what the heck is going on with our kids.”

Since the team’s first meeting in early July, the group has expanded to include Irvine and has grown to about 70 active members.

“You need someone who’s in your position,” Irvine Team Parent member Wendi Tyhurst said. “You need to be able to connect so you know you’re not alone.”

Parents have started posting on the Web site whenever they see suspicious behavior and possible drug dealers. They post license plate numbers and identify places they suspect have drug dealers. Knee calls this “intervention through communication.”

(Source)

Blogspot.com, WordPress.com are just two of many free sites where a parent can build a free blog in a matter of moments. If you want to be pro-active about teen drug addiction in your community, visit Team Parent and use what you learn to start one for your town.

Maybe there would be far less need for teen crisis intervention if parents would just sit down and talk to their kids on a regular basis. Parents had no trouble talking to their teens when they were five and six about the dangers of strangers. It has been proven that parents who are just as adamant about warning their teens about the dangers of drugs exert a good deal of influence on their teens behavior.

“Jill Spineti, the president and chief executive officer of the Governor’s Prevention Partnership, said in the release, “Numerous studies reveal that parents’ attitudes and beliefs are a factor in a teenager’s decision making. Parents who talk to their teens often about the threats of substance abuse are less likely to use than those who don’t. There’s no minimizing the importance of parents staying informed about existing and new threats and relaying their expectations in a clear, forthright manner. For parents, the risk isn’t in speaking up; it’s in staying silent.

The most recent partnership survey also showed that parents are looking for guidance. Nearly one-third say they have a need for more information about drugs; 30 percent say they need tips on how to start a discussion about drugs; and 37 percent report they want information on how to tell if a child is using drugs.”

(Source)

Other important influences are parents who demand to know where their teens are at all times. Teens at risk need to know the rules and the consequences of breaking them. Another important factor is having those family dinners together at least twice a week.

Brat camp was a great success for Elaine and her troubled teenage son Eric. That was last summer when after a horrible year at school Eric’s parents decided to put the brakes on their troubled teenager’s head long plunge into drugs and criminal behavior.

What inspired Elaine was seeing the movie “Pride” (review below). Eric had always loved sports and had been on the swim teen in his freshman year.Moving to a new school and the death of a friend had totally derailed Eric’s happy go lucky nature. Drugs and trouble with the police followed.

Elaine did her research on the various brat camps and military boarding schools and decided to go with a brat camp that emphasized water sports. Elaine had the right instinct. Eric resumed his swimming and so loved the experience that he asked to go to a military school near by that could prepare him for a life in the Navy.
Teen crisis intervention can happen is so many ways, some, as seemingly inconsequential as a movie”
If your family hasn’t seen Pride, rent it this week-end.

“The year is 1973, and Jim Ellis (Academy Award® Nominee Terrence Howard), a college-educated African-American, can’t find a job. Driven by his love of competitive swimming, Jim converts an abandoned recreational pool in a Philadelphia slum with the help of Elston (Bernie Mac), a local janitor. But when city officials mark the Philadelphia Department of Recreation for demolition, Jim fights back - by starting the city’s first African-American swim team. Recruiting troubled teens from the streets, Jim struggles to transform a motley team of novices into capable swimmers - all in time for the upcoming state championships. But as racism, violence and an unsympathetic city official threaten to tear the team apart, Jim must do everything he can to convince his swimmers that victory, both in and out of the pool, is within their reach…”

(Source)

Teens at risk are generally the defiant sort. The ones who buck authority, who don’t want to be told what to do. These are the teens that will swear that they know all about drugs. They know the risks,they certainly know more than you and they should be given the freedom to live their lives how they choose.

Perhaps they should read this simple little story on one unremarkable drug addict. It is not an unusual story. In fact stories like these are a dime a dozen because drug addicts are a dime a dozen. Teens who swear that they can handle drugs should be asked if they would be willing to wear a ball and chain for dozens of years. The results of teen age drug abuse are summed up with this statement.

“After

25 years of using illegal substances, Jimmy (not his real name) is clean, and he’s been clean for about three and a half years..He started doing drugs at an early age. “I smoked my first joint of marijuana when I was 13 years old,” he said.”
(Source)
Twenty-five years of this man’s life were spent serving a master that will loom over him for the rest of his life. For rebellious teens who want “freedom” and do not want to be told what to do, perhaps they better get a clearer picture of who is actually in charge of their lives when they choose to do drugs. They will find that drugs are a far more severe task master than any parent.

There is a price to be paid for all choices. What is so sad is that most teens do not understand that the price that they pay for drug abuse will be one that they will likely pay for the rest of their lives. So much for freedom….

“Kellan is 17 and he is determined not to become a part of the adult prison system. He counts his blessings for being a part of the River Quest program at Youth Town. He started there the day after Christmas 2006, he said.

“I had violated my probation. I had a little drug problem,” said Kellan, who said cocaine used to be one of the drugs he used.

“I don’t look at the drugs like I used to,” he said. “Education is more important than getting high.”

Kellan said he started using drugs because, “I wanted to see what it felt like.” Now, he has dreams of going to college and studying business management.”
(source)

As often as we hear about the tragic consequences of teenage drug addiction, sometimes the teens who successfully reverse their downward spiral are overlooked.

The above quote is typical of those teens who successfully complete a drug rehabilitation program on the campuses of the many troubled teen boarding schools who specialize in working with drug addicted teens.

When searching for a troubled teen boarding school,boot or brat camp, keep in mind that there are schools and camps that are centered on a particular faith such as the Christian oriented camp featured in the article quoted above. Be sure to check with your church or synagogue to see which faith based teen rehab programs that they can recommend.

And please take heart that there are thousands of success stories about the troubled teen who finally “gets it”.

You simply just can’t hide all of the drugs and intoxicants in the world. The blight of meth labs have already forced consumers and pharmacists to jump through hoops just to buy a simple over the counter cold remedy.

When it comes down to it, teenage drug abuse is abetted by drugs but not caused by drugs. Poor decision making skills and emotional immaturity and an expectation of instant gratification telescopes a teens focus to the tiny circle of options that opiates,stimulants, and variations thereof, offer.

All things being even, people generally enjoy their reality too much to think about altering it or avoiding it. They have learned to step up to the challenges in life, not be intimidated by them. Drugs hold little attraction to healthy individuals but for a troubled teen, bound and determined to “get high”, they will find a way no matter what it takes.

Now it appears that the uncontrolled “substance” Coricidin HBP can be abused as well.

“Coricidin HBP is a cough and cold medicine that gets people back on their feet.

It is also sending some local teens to the hospital after they have downed it to get high. They are risking their long-term health as well as their lives, police warn.

“We’ve learned of four different teenagers abusing here over the past month,” said Mattoon Deputy Police Chief Dave Griffith. “At least two have gone to the hospital.”
(Source)

The sexualization of young girls is a growing cause of concern among parents. There is no need to examine what that looks like - we see it everyday when a 10 year old sashays by in a mini skirt and lipstick.

“There are now lingerie clothing lines for preteen girls, and bras for girls under 10, T-shirts with sexual slogans, and even a pole dancing kit complete with a DVD that features “sexy dance tracks” for 6-year-old.”

What needs to be understood is the relationship of out-of-control teenage sexuality to drug addiction. Vulnerability leads to pain and pain leads to a callous heart which goes a long way towards indifference to your fellow man and contempt for yourself. That’s an amateur armchair therapist’s view of it. Emotional pain is very common for the unprepared teenage girl, pretending to own a sexual maturity that is easily shattered. Also common is the easy availability of drugs to stop the pain.

“Young girls are not emotionally equipped to process the sexual messages being targeted at them. It is difficult for them, when abandoned to their autonomy, to resist outside pressure. We are seeing the effects of this premature sexualizing on the bodies of our young women in self-destructive behaviors such as excessive dieting and eating disorders, drug taking and binge drinking, self harm, anxiety, depression, lower academic performance and ill health.

Prescriptions for drugs to treat depression in young girls increase every year. Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia are at epidemic proportions — and manifesting in children as young as 8..”

These excerpts are from a very thought provoking interview with Melinda Tankard Reist, author and founding director of Women’s Forum Australia.
A suggested method of intervention might be to bring back the concept of dignity and the value of respect.

“We need a new strategy for women and girl advocacy.

We need to empower young women especially to be resilient and to defend their dignity and self-respect.

The decision not to submit to hypersexualized messages and to live above the dictates of the culture, needs to be seen for what it is — a radical and defiant alternative lifestyle.

Young women deserve better than to be treated as merely the sum of their sexual parts. They need to be given encouragement to develop their minds, their intellects, their deeper inner lives, rather than wasting hours in trying to get their bodies to conform to an idealized oversexualized type.
from Dealing Girls a Raw and Racy Deal