By now, most families are aware that our nation faces a substance abuse epidemic. There has been much discussion in the national news media and related forums about how widespread this epidemic is. By all accounts, it appears that this epidemic is getting worse. Last week on CBS’s 60-Minutes, there was a segment on how government authorities and elected officials have attempted to address opioid abuse. This humanitarian crisis goes well-beyond opiate addiction. There is evidence that many of our children and their family members are abusing controlled and illegal substances at an alarming rate along with the sad fact that underage consumption of alcohol continues to plague our community.
Sadly, we don’t need the news to tell us just how serious this problem is: Over the past few years, we have lost far too many lives to drugs and alcohol in our own community. We can no longer wait to act since this problem affects all of us.
It is my hope that we, as a community, will face this problem of substance abuse squarely and with all the resources that we can bring to bear. Since this problem impacts so many of our children, I am calling upon all of our families in the South Orangetown Central School District to join me for a series of forums designed to help us unite against substance abuse. Please join me for a focus group discussion on Thursday, November 30, 2017, at 7:30 pm in the Tappan Zee High School Cafeteria. This will be the first session of an ongoing program to engage families in conversations and develop practical solutions to address substance abuse among kids in our community. Future sessions will be held in January, March and May (dates to be determined).
To assist us in this effort, we have reached out to several expert panelists in the areas of treatment, prevention, and law enforcement. The activities for the evening will be centered on educating and informing families about this epidemic but also seeking collaborative solutions to help put an end to the crisis that is affecting the lives of our children.
We know that there are no “easy fixes” to this complicated and dangerous problem and that solutions must be comprehensive, collaborative and engage our entire community. Experts will be on hand to help us answer the tough questions, but the responsibility to address this very difficult problem rests with each of us. In the spirit of our motto, “Together We Can,” I am asking for as many concerned members of our community as possible to attend this very important series. This is a problem that I am confident that we can, and must, address.
If you have any questions about this event, please go to our Family Resource Center at: http://blogs.socsd.org/2016socsd/family-resource-center/ . Here, you will find information about how the school and families can work together to make sure that each of our students comes to school happy, healthy, and ready to learn.
