Troubled Teens Resources

Sometimes parents don’t know where to turn. Teen age drug abuse, binge drinking, steroids, violence, internet addiction. Raising teenagers anymore is like going to war. And now some towns and school districts are taking the war directly to the parents, demanding that they do their part.

“Underage drinking is not new, but school districts seem to be talking about it more, while enforcing tough policies that often require year-round compliance. Still, the parties continue.
[…]
The Lake Shore School District last year started requiring parents to attend a mandatory session on drug and alcohol awareness before their children can attend school dances.

“They all go in with a little angst, as in ‘Why do I have to be here?’…“They come away with a tremendous amount of knowledge and the understanding of how important it is to fight this.”

And for a good many student athletes in this Buffalo community, the season is over. It sounds like the schools and police have a great deal more educating to do before teens at risk are going to get the message.

“More than three dozen high school students — most of them athletes — are serving suspensions this week for drinking alcohol during parties in at least three different incidents in Erie County last weekend.

On Grand Island, a birthday party last Saturday got out of hand, attracting at least 70 teenagers.

The same night, 34 underage drinkers were at a house party in Evans.

And in Sloan, eight students showed up drunk to the homecoming dance.

School administrators spent the week interviewing students, talking to parents, and meting out the punishment required by codes of conduct. For some of the athletes, the sports season is over.”
(source)

Teen crisis intervention begins at home and it begins with parents. Parents who do not assume the responsibilities of adulthood will experience some intervention themselves. Troubled teens require mature adults to raise them, not teenage wanna-bes trying to be buddies with their kids. So any parent that is thinking how hip they are to host drinking parties for their teenagers might want to reconsider their view.

“A Deerfield man will report to the Lake County Jail this week, to begin two weeks of work-release — because he allowed his son to host a teenaged drinking party that turned deadly.

With homecoming weekends at hand for high schools across the metropolitan area, police, prosecutors and advocates are hoping it serves as a warning.

Jeffrey Hutsell seemed to many, including friends and associates, as one of the least likely people to go to jail.

The 53-year-old Hutsell is an entrepreneur known for his years of charitable giving and community service to his church and community, working with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and on volunteer projects as far away as Guatemala and Africa.

But Lake County (Ill.) State’s Attorney Michael Waller said a night of “appallingly bad judgment” last Oct. 13, that ended in the deaths of two 18-year-old partygoers, stained that reputation.

“(Jail) time in this particular case sends a message and it will deter others doing what these defendants did,” he said.”

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Teen crisis intervention in the form of more stringent penalties for the adults who supply underage teenagers with alcohol is the result of one set of parents’ anguish over the death of their son.

“Last year a tragic automobile accident took the lives of four Wakefield High School students: Baker Wood, Steven George, Anthony Bostic, and Timothy Steinberg. According to authorities, Wood was driving 100 miles per hour when the car that the teens were riding in slammed into a concrete barrier on the US 64/264 ramp of the Raleigh beltline, then jumped the barrier and fell to a fiery crash 60 feet below. Alcohol was a factor in the accident. Wood’s blood alcohol level was 0.21; George’s was 0.14.”

Not one of those teenagers had a chance. Teen help is all for naught - all of the warnings and admonishment that parents give their kids are all undone by one set of parents who think they are smart or “cool” by allowing their underage teens to drink. Now in North Carolina those parents are going to pay the price for their irresponsibility.

“Working closely with Rep. Ty Harrell (D-Wake), the Georges have vigorously pushed for the passage of HB 1277 – Drivers License Revocation for ABC Violation. The measure would suspend the driver’s license up to one year of anyone of age providing booze for underage drinkers.

“Many people don’t understand that the most common source of alcohol for minors is the home,” said Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League. “Parents are under the assumption that if they allow parties where alcohol is served either in their house or backyard, youngsters will be safe. But the fact is if they serve alcohol to someone under 21 they are breaking the law and putting teens at risk. Laws that would really make these adults accountable are essential,” he said.”

(Source)

A retiree acquaintance moonlights as a limo driver during prom season. A hard and fast rule with limo drivers during prom season is to make sure that their teenage passengers do not sneak in any alcoholic beverages to drink before arriving at their prom. He was amazed at the ingenuity some teens are capable of in disguising alcohol and other contraband.

He speculated that the revealing prom gowns worn by today’s teenage girls mixed in with alcohol consumption created a dangerous combination that has transformed a night meant as celebration into a night of temptation and danger.

Statistics support his concerns.

• Nearly 25 percent of drivers ages 16-20 involved in fatal automobile accidents had been drinking (NHTSA, 2005).
• Half of all persons who die in traffic accidents involving underage drivers who drank are people other than the drinking driver (NHTSA, 2003).
• About one in three high school students say they have ridden in an automobile with a driver who had been drinking (NHTSA, 2003).
• Forty-seven percent of high school seniors drank during the past month (NIDA, 2006).
• More than a quarter of 12th graders drink heavily, while more than 20 percent of 10th graders do so (Johnson et al. 2005).
• Girls 16-19 are four times more likely to be the victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault than the general population (National Crime Victimization Study, 2000).
• Twenty-five percent of high school students said they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when they last
• Twenty-five percent had used alcohol or drugs the last time they had sex (YRBS, 2004).
• Alcohol or drugs influenced 29 percent of 15-17 year-olds and 37 percent of 18-24 year-olds to engage in sexual activity (Henry J. Kaiser Foundation, 2003).

Prom season has become another arena in which teen crisis intervention tools and programs must be in place. The data above was provided by just such an intervention program known as BuzzFree Prom. It is a site that you and your at-risk teen may want to explore.