In New Canaan, Connecticut, a group of parents have taken it upon themselves to come together against teen substance abuse. Their action plan involves reaching out to parents like themselves through workshops that will revolve around parent-children relationships, including how to communicate with one’s kids about sensitive issues.
A feature on the New Canaan Patch shares the objectives of the group, which as yet does not have a name to go by. A core group of parents have received training and are equipped with materials to lead intensive 12-hour workshops. The effort is spearheaded by Robert Curry, who was quoted with the following statement: “You don’t just go directly at addressing alcohol and substance abuse, you have to go back and lay the groundwork with the parents, to give them the tools to parent.”
The group will be spreading the word about the workshops through churches, libraries and community groups. The sessions are scheduled to start in the fall, although there are a couple of summer workshops in the works: there will be one for parents of kids being treated at the Silver Hill Hospital and another for adults in 12-step programs.
The group does not expect the effort to be a walk in the park. One of the parents who have been certified as workshop leaders is Diane Blasco, and she shared: “I think it will be challenging getting the people who really need to be at these programs… I think that’s always the issue—a lot of times you have to wait for a crisis to occur before you even know you have a problem.”
Tags: teen drug addiction, teen substance abuse
