School coordinating Safe Home program
to guard against
drug, alcohol use
By KIM SMITH DEDAM
LAKE PLACID -- On Locker Day, parents and students picked up more than a new class schedule at Lake Placid Middle/High School.
The marble floors were polished and bright.
New locker combinations turned and clicked.
If they stuck, the custodial team was right there to figure out why.
Kids ambled the halls with friends or parents, checking out where classes would be in a low-key, open atmosphere.
School Principal Dr. Dave Messner said Locker Day, now in its fourth year, was an "instant success" getting glitches out of everyone's first day back in school even before classes begin.
Positioned around the spacious school lobby with him were School Guidance Counselor Roger Catania, Shipman Youth Center Director Jon Fremante and Coordinator of the Connecting Youth and Communities Coalition Monica Clark.
The four built a support network right at the school entrance.
SAFE HOME
And a new connection to school and community was introduced.
Safe Home launched this month in Lake Placid and Wilmington, giving parents a new way to build a network of supervised home environments for young people and their friends that does not allow underage use of alcohol, tobacco or drugs and monitors online computer use.
Parents who sign up get a sticker for their front doors declaring theirs a "safe home."
Each parent signs a pledge that also says:
"I will set expectations for my children by knowing where they are going, whom they are with, what they are doing and when they are to return home."
Safe Home is not designed to address adult alcohol abuse, explained Tina Clark, a credentialed prevention professional and student-support counselor.
But it does create a circle of reassurance for young people and parents to depend on, she said.
By noon on Locker Day, a few dozen families had already signed up to take part.
"We're reaching the 6th to 12th grades here today," Tina said, "but information about this will go home with students once school starts next week. It's the parents that really need to get on board."
BUILDING A NETWORK
The Safe Home project grew through Connecting Youth and Communities efforts in another program called Family Matters, which has run in every Tri-Lakes school for several years.
Family Matters targets underage alcohol and substance-abuse prevention by giving families an opportunity to talk about drinking patterns and other issues.
"It also gives opportunities to families who just don't know how to start that dialogue," Tina said.
All schools in Franklin County are now offering Family Matters programs, she said.
But adding Safe House builds a network, explained Monica Clark, coordinator for the Wilmington-Lake Placid Connecting Youth and Communities Coalition.
The national Community Anti-Drug Coalition of America certifies the program.
"We have isolated five local conditions that lead to alcohol abuse," Monica said, listing them as "friends using, or peer pressure; not enough alternative activities; not enough alcohol-free community activities; older young adults providing alcohol to minors; and parents and law enforcement not letting kids experience consequences."
MAKE THEM THINK
Alcohol abuse remains the leading form of substance abuse in Essex County, according to Youth Bureau statistics.
Multiple highway deaths every year and other tragic accidents are related to alcohol use by young people in the North Country.
And breaking generations of acceptance is a tall order.
"This is not prohibition for parents," Monica said. "It is, first, a way to make them think, and second, a way to make connections that are often hard to make these days. This is a way for us to just raise the conversation."
Liz DeFazio, of Lake Placid, a member of the Connecting Youth and Communities board, helped staff the table in the school lobby on Locker Day.
She recalled a similar program in Lake Placid about 15 years ago.
"As those families aged out, the program phased out. CYC decided to bring it back again."
Safe Homes can be organized in other towns and schools, Monica said.
Parents, youth programs or school counselors interested in finding out more can contact the Lake Placid-Wilmington CYC Coalition at 637-7354 or visit the Web site at: www.Connecting
Youth.com.
Messner said the Safe Home pledge is a good fit for school-to-home connections.
And a Safe Home is a good message to send kids.
"We're more than glad to have them here today," he said.
