by David Flint
At a breakfast meeting in Berlin last Thursday, February 4, community leaders heard some dismal reports about drug and alcohol abuse among our teens and pre-teens and some advice on organizing to counteract the problem. The meeting, held at the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church Hall and organized and sponsored by the TRACS Coalition (Together Reducing Alcohol and drugs in our Communities), drew about 25 interested people from the communities of Grafton, Petersburgh, Berlin and Stephentown.
A group of students from the Berlin Central School chapter of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) started things off by presenting some of the results of Communities That Care youth surveys conducted in 2006 and 2008 by the Rensselaer County Underage Drinking Coalition. The surveys of student behavior and perceptions in sixth, eighth, tenth and twelfth grades showed that in general, the students at Berlin Central School had considerably higher rates of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use than was reported county-wide. Beyond that, risk factors such as low commitment to school, family conflict and laws and norms favorable to drug use all appear to be higher than in the county as a whole. On the other hand, on factors that would serve to protect youth from dangerous behavior, the surveys found that the Berlin school community scored lower than county-wide. These factors include religiosity, peer and school rewards for pro-social activities and family opportunities for pro-social involvement.
The students were quite forthright and frank with their comments. “Everyone we know is doing some sort of drugs,” said one, and all students know someone who has been involved in a drinking and driving accident. They said there is a lot of partying going on with alcohol and drugs and parents know about it but do nothing to stop it. Teachers have even been at some of these parties. Many parents seem to think it’s OK for their teenagers to drink as long as they are safe at home. Local stores often do not ask for proof of age when selling beer or cigarettes. Prescription drugs are also readily available and are being abused by kids. Marijuana is being used on the school buses and drivers and faculty know it. A lot of kids think doing drugs is OK because their parents do it, and some parents actually provide marijuana for their kids.
Asked where they were getting their information, they said that much of it comes via Facebook. The accuracy of such information is open to question, but no one at the meeting appeared to have any doubt that there is a community problem that needs to be addressed.
Part of the problem, according to the students, is that “We live in the middle of nowhere” with not a lot of law enforcement and also not a lot for kids to do. Their perception was that there is even less for young people to do than previously. They recalled that there was at one time a teen center in Berlin and more roller-skating trips.
The guest speaker was John Underwood, President and founder of the American Athletic Institute, a sport consulting firm that offers programs and services on a wide range of issues including alcohol and drug abuse. “It’s great to hear from kids who care,” he said. The problem facing the towns in the Berlin School District, he said, was a complex societal issue prevalent across the country, “a puzzle with a thousand pieces.” The problem, he said, started to become much more severe in recent decades with the onset of kids using alcohol dropping to about age 12 for boys and age 13 for girls. Underwood also picked up on the students’ mention of prescription drugs as a problem. He said it has now replaced marijuana as the number two problem among youths after alcohol abuse.
Underwood affirmed that the alcohol and drug abuse problem in this area definitely needs some attention. He noted that pot use among kids nationwide is between 17% and 19% but here the surveys indicate it may be over 40% in twelfth grade. Also, alcohol use among teens here appears to be 7% higher than the national average. Underwood said there is a similar situation up in the Adirondacks where he lives, at the North Warren Central School District, and a lot of it has to do with parental use and acceptance of drugs. It all comes down to what we are willing to accept, he said, and if anyone in the family is using drugs, the chances of a child in that family becoming addicted is 400% higher. Underwood emphasized that in any campaign to fight alcohol abuse a strong presence is needed from the schools where kids spend so much of their time. If the schools do not want to be involved, he said, it’s a huge problem. Schools need programs that emphasize excellence and achievement, and they need to reward achievement and improvement toward achievement. School boards need to enforce their policies, standards and rules. We need community-wide standards for behavior, he said, and we must start educating our kids on these issues and instilling standards early on, in fourth, fifth and sixth grades. After that, it won’t help.
Underwood also responded to the students’ comments about nothing to do. He said we must create meaningful, supervised opportunities and programs, be willing to invest something in them and hire and retain quality people to run them. Kids will know immediately, he said, if we really care and if the programs are something special or just crap.
Kids also need to have clear and consistent boundaries, especially in an area where there are no local police. If law enforcement is not doing their job, we should turn up the heat, he said. And if we find that in fact 65% of the alcohol kids consume comes from adults in the community, we must get to the bottom of it and put pressure on law enforcement. Pressure needs to be put on parents and the accepting community as well. Persons who become aware of teen parties should call the State Police or the Sheriff’s tip line at 270-0128 and have them check it out.
He suggested that community leaders draft a letter of fair warning to be sent out to all parents on Sheriff’s Department or State Police letterhead explaining their rights and responsibilities regarding drug laws and underage alcohol use. The letter should be co-signed by law enforcement authorities, the District Attorney, local judges, the Superintendent of Schools and the school Athletic Director. Of course, there has to be a commitment to enforce the laws and regulations outlined in such a letter.
Margaret Brennan, County Community Prevention Coordinator, helped to organize the HAPPY (Hoosick Area Partnership for Parents & Youth) Coalition in the Hoosick area. This partnership she sees as a great success story, and she is looking forward to seeing the results of the next youth survey that will be conducted next month. She expects it will show considerable progress in the Hoosick area in reducing the dangers of youth alcohol and drug abuse. Brennan is now providing assistance to TRACS. She sees TRACS as a great group with a lot of potential under the leadership of Sue Cass, Janet Atwater, Andrew Zlotnick and BCS Student Assistance Counselor Leah Ross. In addition to the County Underage Drinking Coalition, there are three other new community coalitions in the county in East Greenbush, Averill Park and Schodack.
The stated mission of TRACS is to build community partnerships to reduce high-risk behaviors including alcohol, tobacco and other drug use, to help ensure that our youth may grow to their greatest potential. Newly elected officers are Co-Chairs Brad Deyo and Andrew Zlotnick and Secretary Kazie Furcinite. Anyone interested in lending a hand should contact the coalition at tracs_coalition@yahoo.com or call Sue Cass at 518-772-0024.