ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, November 20, 1996 TAG: 9611200054
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: A cuppa joe
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY
Ron Salzbach caused a stir.
This fall, the substance abuse counselor wrote a letter to the editor claiming 70 percent to 80 percent of Roanoke Valley school children - high school and junior high kids - were experimenting with alcohol or other drugs, based on his observations.
Some people told him he exaggerated. Others, who work in the field, said his estimates might have been low.
Three people with an intimate knowledge of the drug scene thought he was right on, at least when it comes to the high school kids.
Call them Faith, Hope and Joy.
Faith and Hope are mothers and talked about their experiences recently at a coffee shop on Starkey Road.
Their teen-age boys were busted for possession of LSD, a felony. The charges were taken under advisement, and the boys enrolled in substance abuse treatment, one locally, the other at a program several hours away. It cost his parents $7,000.
Faith and Hope say Salzbach is right.
Joy thinks he was a little low. She's 17 and clean. But she drank before school, sneaked out to get stoned and generally made her family and herself miserable. She said even a higher percentage of teens are experimenting with the stuff.
`Most parents are clueless'
Experimentation can mean many things, beginning with a sip of beer. Whether experimenters total 60 percent, 80 percent or only 10 percent of our kids is less important to parents than knowing that 100 percent are at risk.
Kids will tell you they can get whatever they want, whenever they want it, Faith and Hope said. Joy agrees.
School counselors consider grades seven through nine a critical span, when initial encounters with the drug culture are most likely. Users come from every socioeconomic group, from athletes to metalheads, strugglers to honor students.
Most parents are clueless about this, says Virginia Hardin, director of the Prevention Plus program of Blue Ridge Community Services.
Some parents provide alcohol at their teens' parties, thinking it gives them some control. Some use marijuana and other illegal drugs at home. Others minimize the hazards of such use, because they are baby boomers who went through it themselves. Some never talk about it, presuming their kids are immune.
The biggest factor in deterring teens' experimentation is "explicit parental prohibition within the home," Hardin said.
"You can't start at 15 or 16 years old trying to give a kid values," said Sandy Alderson, a substance abuse counselor with Roanoke County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. "You have to start early" - by learning everything you can about abuse, sharing information with other parents and supporting prevention efforts.
`Parent to Parent' series
Last fall, Teresa Reed and Donna Kurtz drew four people to "Parent to Parent," an eight-week, videotape and discussion series at Hidden Valley Junior High, which has more than 800 students. A spring series drew about 30 parents. This year, about 60 came to two weekly sessions. Reed said they'll probably repeat it in the spring.
The series also is being given at Cave Spring High School, which has more than 1,200 students. Eight parents have been showing up. Ten parents of students at William Byrd high and middle schools came to an initial session Thursday night at the Vinton health department.
"It's easier to remain clueless," said Joann Burkholder, coordinator of the Student Assistance Program at those schools.
Salzbach called for tough interventions such as mandatory drug screens for students, searches in schools and funding for substance abuse counselors in all high schools and junior highs.
But most of the use occurs outside of school. So school workers need help.
"Drugs and alcohol have been with us for a really long time," Burkholder said, "and they're probably not really ever going to go away. It's not a problem to be solved but a dilemma to be managed. How we choose to manage this is crucial to kids."
It's one more responsibility on our overcrowded lists.
What's your story? Give me a call at 981-3256 or send a letter to P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491. Or e-mail me at kenn@roanoke.infi.net.
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