Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 9, 1992 TAG: 9202090166
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GEORGE KEGLEY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TEENS FEEL THE PRESSURE TO CREATE ROLE MODELS
Almost 500 teen-agers milled around the Shenandoah Life Insurance Co. auditorium Saturday morning in Roanoke, looking for another person with the same color of eyes.The off-beat exercise served as an ice-breaker to get the students to mingle at a youth drug-prevention seminar with a lofty goal: to create anti-drinking/anti-drug role models to guide younger kids.
John Hewett, a leader who seemed to really relate to youth, told teens from Danville to Wytheville about the health hazards of using drugs and alcohol. But the emphasis of the two-day conference was on training the teens to leave the program and provide positive peer pressure throughout their community.
This is the fifth year for the Southwest Virginia conference of Responsible Educated Adolescents Can Help (REACH), a project of the National Federation of Parents for Drug-Free Youth.
The teens met most of Saturday, gathered for a dance Saturday night and they'll be back today. But they weren't the only ones included; more than 100 parents came to a training session on how to communicate more openly with their teens.
"It's not good what's going on. . . . Some young people are acting up and shooting. . . . We need to come together and do something," said Tim Beatty, a 16-year-old junior at William Fleming High.
Jennifer Weikle of Pulaski, a group leader in drug-prevention work, likes Hewett because "he's got rhythm and a lot of enthusiasm."
Weikle, who will soon turn 18, said she enjoyed meeting other teens and learning what they're doing about drug problems.
Eric Willis of Danville said he has seen the drug problem in his own family. He described his adopted brother as a drug addict who moved away from home. "It's not enough to be drug-free," Willis said, "we've got to let others know about it. . . . Together, we can make a difference."
Cindy Hopkins, a nursing student at the College of Health Science in Roanoke and a group leader, said the teens were learning how to capture an audience. Hewett, who is from Annapolis, Md., "has really got their attention," she said.
Hewett's first message is that drug and alcohol abuse is costly and it's hurting many innocent people. Teens can break the cycle of drug and alcohol use and they can be models for younger children, he told them.
"Your past is your business. Start again; give them a reason not to use drugs," Hewett said.
Along with games, rap sessions and skits, Hewett mixed some serious philosophy: "Don't let what you can't do get in the way of what you can do."
A half-dozen teens got a chance to use Hewett's microphone to talk about themselves and report the weirdest gift they've received.
Anthony Smith of William Fleming, who said he came to the conference "to meet new people and to learn," reported once getting a stick of gum for Christmas. Other weird gifts included leotard underwear and a stoplight now on display in a bedroom.
"It costs you green money to take care of someone else's problems," Hewett said. He asked the teens to remember that drugs are involved in 50 percent of spouse-abuse cases, 49 percent of all murders, 62 percent of assaults, and 50 percent of traffic fatalities.
Yvonne Kauffman, an associate superintendent of schools in an Albuquerque, N.M., suburb, challenged the teens to be drug-free and she also led the parent training.
"We hear so many negative things about the teens, but they are our hope. They will make a difference as role models. We can't give up on our youth," Kauffman said.