Troubled Teens Resources

Teens at risk tend to sneer at the various campaigns designed to, hopefully, curb their voracious appetites for alcohol and drugs, the typical responses ranging from anger to derision to contempt. I’ve read many comments where the indignant teen peevishly demands to have the right to do what they want with their own lives. And maybe if the damage stopped there, teen crisis intervention wouldn’t be needed.

However, the damage from binge drinking always seems to collide into other lives, innocent lives. And it isn’t a matter of surviving spring breaks or four years of partying. It’s a matter of having the brain, ambition or ability to do anything besides survive for the rest of their lives.

Because, odd thing is, you really can damage the human brain. You really can short-circuit a, heretofore, bright young mind. So it ends up that the drinking that the teen and his parents figure he’ll grow out of, can keep him from growing much at all.

“By the time teenage binge-drinkers reach the age of 30 they are much more likely to be in prison and/or developed alcoholism than their non-drinking peers. As figures continue to show a rise in teenage drinking, that is the stark warning issued by the Institute of Child Health (ICH).

The ICH looked at the habits of 11,000 teenagers back in 1986 and again when they reached 30 and their findings…make sobering reading. Those teens who indulged in binge-drinking are 60% more likely to be alcoholic than the average, 60% more likely to be homeless, almost twice as likely to have convictions or jail sentences and 40% more likely to use illegal drugs.”

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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.”

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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.

Teen help often is initiated when one parent in a community has “had enough”. Teen crisis intervention designed to circumvent teenage drinking are often subverted by parents who have the misguided idea that if a teen drinking party is under “adult supervision”, that there is little damage done.

Well one parent in Lafayette has had enough with that mentality and has started an online petition to deal with it.

“Joan Grimes has decided to turn her outrage into action. She has written a petition asking the Lafayette City Council to “prohibit the hosting of private parties or gatherings where alcohol is consumed by minors.” Typically, these are called “Social Host Ordinances,” and they are becoming increasingly popular across the country. Berkeley just passed one, Orinda and Moraga have them on their books, San Diego and Ventura Counties have them, Marin County passed one unanimously last fall, and Alameda County was expected to pass one in May. Also, the Contra Costa Alcohol and Other Drugs Advisory Board is collecting information for an ordinance for unincorporated Contra Costa County.”

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It is all too true that we will all be reading headlines this summer of this or that teen who lost their life because of drinking and driving. For the teen whose foolishness might cost the lives of their friends, they face a life forever shadowed by the guilt of that tragedy. Yet there are those parent who shrug off the dangers of alcohol and actions by concerned parents, such as the petition above, are needed when such irresponsible parenting brings harm to the community at large.

Brat camp for parents may be the next stage needed in teen crisis intervention. Some parents simply do not have a clue. Irresponsible parents, unfortunately, put everyone’s teenagers in danger.

Here is a woman’s description of her neighbor, an irresponsible parent that she refers to as Mr. Milquetoast.

“Throwing beer cans and bottles, pissing on people’s cars just shows the deepest contempt for the community. I guess we’ve earned it.

After a previous incident where Mr. Milquetoast’s son’s friends threw beer cans on my lawn, I talked to a Walnut Creek police officer about what could be done about this behavior and also the son’s alcohol-fueled driving. His response was that his parents had let him and his friends drink when he was underage. When I mentioned the little matter of teenage drunk driving, he said that the kids might have a designated driver. I think my snort could be heard in Lamorinda. Anyway, it’s clear that the problem is not just with the parents. It’s also with a police force that sees teenage drinking as acceptable and normal behavior.”
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Just makes you want to throw your hands up in the air, doesn’t it? Also makes the option of troubled teen boarding schools and military boarding schools a heck of a lot more attractive. These type of parents are in the PTA, on school boards,and may likely be one of your teen’s teachers. You may recall this year the many teachers that have been brought up on charges of improper behavior with their students.

A parent has more control over their troubled teenager’s education in a private boarding school setting. Typically schools in the private sector can attract a higher caliber, more dedicated professional than the public sector. A parent can choose a specialty school that is closely aligned with their values, joining a community of parents that have the mutual goal of turning teens at risk into responsible adults.

Teen crisis intervention programs are typically spearheaded by community groups who want more safeguards and effective solutions in place when dealing with out of control teens. Some very innovative programs have sprung up across the country by groups of parents who have become alarmed over the prevalence of teen drinking and drug abuse.

In the past, such programs have primarily targeted teens. Unfortunately the laxity of many parents around teen drinking have caused some communities to create laws that hold parents as accountable as their teens if a drinking party goes South. Such as this ordinance recently introduced in a California town that targeted parents who host underage drinking.

“The city is revising its “unruly party” ordinance to make it easier to crack down on teenage drinking — including a provision that changes the definition of a party from five underage revelers to two. The new ordinance will eliminate the current $1,000 cap on the amount the city can recover from party hosts — or their parents — when police respond to gatherings.”

The changes in the ordinance were due to a letter sent out by a parents that described the vandalism and excessive drinking that occurred at an unauthorized party held in their home.

“Local high school parents responded by forming healthy choices committees that promised to work with the schools and community to cut down on teen drinking and drug use and come up with alternative activities for teenagers.”
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As a parent, you have more power in your community than you may realize. Be pro-active in teen crisis intervention in your neighborhood, It can be as simple as circulating a letter and approaching your local officials for support.