Teen Substance Use in Spring Subject of Conversation that Matters

With prom and graduation season upon us, Natick Together for Youth sponsored their third in a series of Conversations that Matter last night in the Natick High School library, this one focusing on helping your children making good choices and social host laws.

The event, organized by Karen Fossett, the Coordinator of Conversations that Matter, featured an expert panel made up of Natick Police Chief James Hicks, Natick Public Schools Prevention Specialist and NTY Director Erica Dinerman, criminal defense attorney Shelley Joseph and Jean Whitney, who runs the after prom party.

Each member of the panel used the experience they've gained through their careers, as well as by being parents themselves, to give insight into ways to discourage teenagers from drinking alcohol and engaging in other unsafe behavior. One strong message seemed to be the importance of educating young people about why engaging in substance use is not a good decision.

"I learned early in my career there are several other actions other than punitive," said Chief Hicks, who is in his 27th year of law enforcement. "[Police officers] have the opportunity to influence the community in how we react."

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Joseph, who is a former prosecutor, began by talking about how when she first started representing clients on the defense side she noticed how many of them had some sort of substance issue. She said that in a large number of cases that had some effect on the situation that her client found him/herself in. This is one reason she is involved in NTY.

"95 percent of my clients have a drug or alcohol problem," she said. "The bottom line is how to keep our kids healthy and safe."

Dinerman spoke about the Social Norms Campaign, an idea where they are using positive messages to influence students to not engage in risky behavior. For example, instead of saying how many kids are using drugs, they talk about how many kids are abstaining from drugs.

One of her mottos is "prevent, delay, reduce."

Whitney talked about the after prom party, which she has been involved with for four years. She said her ultimate goal is to get nearly every student who attends the prom to go to the after prom party afterwards. Last year about 400 students attended, which was a significant increase from previous years.

This year the party is on Friday, May 24. The doors will open at 11:45 p.m. and kids can arrive up until 12:45 a.m. Once there, attendees will be allowed to leave when they want. This year's theme is Mardi Gras. Whitney said there will be laser tag and a rock climbing wall, as well as some sort of bungee jump thing. There will also be food from Anna's Taqueria in Brookline. The entire after prom party has been put together by just eight people.

One of the ideas behind having an after prom party is that if kids attend, they won't be in a situation where they could be having their own parties in which alcohol could be involved. No one on the panel wants that to happen, as the safety of the students is their number one priority.

"My goal as police chief is to keep everyone safe," Hicks said. "My goal is to see every kid walk across the stage during graduation with all of their family and friends watching.

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Previous Conversations that Matter were on Transitioning to Natick High School (November 1) and Parent's Questions about Internet Safety and Setting Limits (December 5) with Lynette Owens as the expert.