Alliance Against Drugs to Screen Documentary at Town Hall Meeting

Debbie Kehoe, executive director of The Alliance Against Drugs, will screen the documentary Listen II at the upcoming Youth Connect town hall meeting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 27, in the Quaker Valley Middle School auditorium. Entitled, “It’s No Big Deal… Right?”, the focus of the meeting will be the scope, nature, and problems associated with adolescent use of alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, and what parents can do about it issue.

The Alliance began in 2002, as a direct result of a high school student’s drug overdose.  In the intervening years, the organization has become an important regional information network that includes schools and service provider organizations.  The group coordinates the largest anti-drug poster contest in Pennsylvania, with more than 6,000 entries from 19 different school districts last year. 

Listen II and its predecessor, Listen, are thought-provoking documentaries produced by The Alliance chronicling the heartbreak of addiction that many local families have endured.  Listen II will be screened at the town hall meeting on April 27.  Jeff Bennett, of Bell Acres, will share with attendees the story of his daughter’s struggle with substance abuse; Bennett and his wife, Patti, are both featured in Listen II, along with four other families from the region.

Also participating in the morning event are Dr. Duncan Clark, a leading expert in adolescent substance abuse and its effect on brain development, as well as local high school students, who will wrap up the presentation with a frank discussion of what parents can do to help their children avoid the lure of drugs and alcohol. 

The event is free and open to the public; parents of children in grades 4 though 9 are especially encouraged to attend.  For more information on the town hall meeting, email youthconnect@hotmail.com.

Youth Connect is a group of concerned adults and students from schools and organizations in the Sewickley area working to provide the information, resources, and support our young people need to avoid risky behavior and enjoy their teen years.

For more information please contact youthconnect@hotmail.com or visit youthconnectnews@blogspot.com.