Ex-con to talk to kids, parents about abuses
By Burton Cole
FALMOUTH — Drugs ought to be dinner talk.
In fact, says Stephanie Green, Pendleton County Schools Champions Coalition coordinator, families ought to be discussing all kinds of dangerous substances and abuses at the dinner table.
To help get the conversation started, the school district is bringing internationally known speaker and ex-convict Michael DeLeon to the county on Oct. 14 to speak to students during the day and to meet with parents that evening.
“We want to get as many people to the parent academy as possible,” Green said.
“People don’t know what’s out there. There are so many changes in the landscape of how substances are used, it’s hard to keep up.”
Multiple products, from vaping to gummy candies infused with THC, are marketed to youth. Yet, less about the dangers of addiction is being heard these days, she said.
“It’s literally in our gas stations,” she said. “When the perception of harm goes down, the use of harmful substances goes up.”
Along with DeLeon and his Steered Straight program will be his book “Table Talks: A Parent Guide to Meaningful Conversations with Children.”
Champions, the school district coalition for the prevention of alcohol, tobacco and drug use and violence in among county youth, also has a resources book that will be available.
“Statistics show that the more conversations parents and children have, the less abuse there is,” Green said.
“Our goal is to help parents know what’s out there.”
DELEON
Michael DeLeon is listed as the top-booked school presenter in the country and the nation’s leading expert on vaping and THC.
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Steered Straight, continues on Page 2