Drugs, Alcohol: Our Kids?

WAITSBURG - An eyeopening forum on underage drinking and drug abuse in the Waitsburg community is scheduled for 5:30 p.m., March 12, at Waitsburg Elementary School.

Peggy Gutierrez, a prevention specialist at Blue Mountain Counseling, and Dr. Carol Clarke, the Waitsburg School District superintendent, will give a one-hour presentation highlighting statistics from a Healthy Youth Survey taken by Waitsburg High School students in 2010. The survey was 100 percent confidential and really shows our kids' perceptions of drugs and alcohol, Clarke said.

"There's some strong information that needs to be shared," she said. "Our students indicated it is their perception that it's easy to get alcohol (in our community). I think that's a very telling thing."

The meeting, preceded by a free barbecue pork sandwich dinner at 5:30 p.m., is part of a community mobilization program through Blue Mountain Counseling and the Coalition for Youth and Families of Columbia and Walla Walla counties and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Gutierrez said. Childcare will be provided and the meeting is open to all Walla Walla County residents.

"We're trying to get some dialogue going at a community level," she added. The presentation will provide information on underage drinking and other substance abuse. Gutierrez said in addition to sharing data and statistics, they'll be giving parents some information on how to make sure their own children aren't engaging in underage drinking and drugs.

"We'll provide some tools they can use to help impact the underage drinking going on," she said. "Parents have more influence over their children's decisions than they realize."

Gutierrez said she will give a Power of Parents presentation, teaching them how to communicate with kids and set clear standards.

Gutierrez and Clarke hope for a large turnout. They want to be able to present the information, with help from emcee Zach Bartlow, and start a conversation about how the community can respond to underage drinking and drug abuse.

Gutierrez said in her line of work, she knows that more students abstain from alcohol and drugs than the amount of students who do use substances.

However, she said she has seen many tragedies in the community involving underage drinking and drug abuse. She said children who start drinking at a younger age do more damage to their bodies and move faster through the addiction process than adults.

Clarke said the information to be presented was shared with the Waitsburg School Board last summer and the board members believed more people in the community need to know.

"I would love to see people come," she said. "It's an opportunity to come and hear what our kids are saying about drugs and alcohol use in our community. There's reason to be concerned."

The dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. March 12 and the presentation will begin at 6:30 p.m. Spanish translation will also be available.