Youth Connect will host an important 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.
Participating in the morning event are a number of local residents,
as well as a leading expert in teen substance abuse disorder. Jeff Bennett, of Bell Acres, will share the
story of his daughter’s struggle with substance abuse; Bennett and his wife,
Patti, were featured in Listen II, a
documentary about chemical addiction in young people that was produced by The
Alliance Against Drugs. Debbie Kehoe,
executive director of The Alliance, will also be on hand and will screen Listen II as part of the morning’s event.
Dr. Duncan Clark, director of the Pittsburgh Adolescent
Alcohol Research Center, will discuss his 20+ years of clinical research on the
impact of alcohol and other drugs on brain development, especially among
children and adolescents. Dr. Clark is
an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, and also
holds a Ph.D. in psychology from UCLA, along with an M.D. from Harvard; his
work has been recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the American
College of Psychiatrists, and the American Psychological Association, among
others.
A panel of local students 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.
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