Troubled Teens Resources

Private boarding schools, brat camps and schools for troubled teens can probably all take a bit of credit for the recently released optimistic report on teen age drug abuse. They, along with thousands of community led efforts across America have been waging a seemingly endless battle to protect teens at risk for addiction, pregnancies, academic failure and criminal behavior. The report, issued in December, goes over the latest statistics from the “drug czars”.

“There has been a substance abuse sea change among American teens,” said John P. Walters, director of National Drug Control Policy. “They are getting the message that dangerous drugs damage their lives and limit their futures. We know that if people don’t start using drugs during their teen years, they are very unlikely to go on to develop drug problems later in life. That’s why this sharp decline in teen drug use is such important news: It means that there will be less addiction, less suffering, less crime, lower health costs, and higher achievement for this upcoming generation of Americans.”

Keep up the good work, but don’t let up. There are active online campaigns to keep your teen tempted. A teenager is quoted as admonishing parents for not keeping up-to-date on the latest pro-drug propaganda throughout the web. It is a wise caution to heed.

“Teens report that their parents seldom stay current with the threats posed by pro-drug sources of misinformation, such as Internet content that normalizes and trivializes drug use. Parents need to keep talking to their kids about the dangers of drug use and stay on top of current technologies that could pose additional risks to their teens’ health and safety.”

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Teens at risk have inspired communities across the nation to provide a variety of teen crisis intervention programs at a grass roots level. Such a program is just now being launched in a small Ohio town.

“Eighth-grader Dylan Weaver said he sees a problem with drinking and drug abuse among his peers.

Weaver, of Pickerington, found a way to get involved in curbing that problem when his Pataskala youth group joined the Consortium for a Drug Free Licking County.

The Jersey Baptist Church youth group took part in focus groups to help tailor the message of the consortium’s “Be Unstoppable” campaign, which will launch across the county in the next few days.”

The campaign will actually target parents in it’s initial thrust, noting that parents indifferent to or ignorant of drug culture and teen drug use need a wake up call.

“… the consortium is targeting parents first because too often all of the pressure for preventing drug and alcohol abuse is put on youth.

“Finally, we realized we have to have the parents in this with us. They’re on the front lines,” McCloud said. “It’s not fair to put the whole burden on the kids.”

Parents will receive postcards with tips about how to keep their kids away from drugs and alcohol. It also will lead parents to the campaign’s Web site, www.beunstoppable.us, for more in-depth information on drug and alcohol abuse…”
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It is interesting to note that the proposed campaign has provoked controversy, as represented in the comments. Some feel money is better directed at improving schools and parents ought to be able to cope without programs to supplement their efforts.

Livonia is an example of a small town that is not playing ostrich when it comes to confronting the issue of teenage drug abuse. If you and your neighbors are seeing evidence of increasing drug traffic, arrests and fatalities in your town, you don’t have to wait for the state or the schools to provide a “task force.” You can create your own.

“The Livonia Save Our Youth Task Force is a grass roots effort to educate and empower the community in an effort to address the issues that affect the health and safety of our young people with a focus on alcohol and other drugs.”

It just takes a few good ideas and a few willing parents to get a project rolling. The Livonia group has created an online blog as an easily accessible educational resource for community parents. They have also produced an annual marathon to “run drugs out of town” and put some money in their coffers.

“Our purpose is twofold; to raise awareness about teen drug use and raise money for the Livonia Save Our Youth Task Force. Our focus is mainly on kids including teens. It is our aim to not merely present this to children, but to actively involve them, making this their issue.”

It may not be true that it takes a village to raise a child, but it takes the combined efforts of a “village” to safeguard their youth and present a united front against a culture of drugs and lawlessness.

“We are your neighbors, the kids down the street, the business owner up the street. We are the doctors who take care of you, the parents who care for you. We are the people who are affected by drug abuse as well as those who abuse drugs. We are everyone in the world.”
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