Week of Awareness
Throughout the week, the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV eyewitness news will be featuring stories on the “Week of Awareness.” Underage drinking and substance abuse are not necessarily anything new to Leon County or more prevalent than any other part of the country. The lack of parental and household involvement is very troubling. Only 24% of parents think their teenagers are drinking, and 40% of teenagers report that they have done so. Anecdotally, students and parents report examples where parents drop kids off unsupervised at homes of people they’ve never met. Teenagers spend time in households where parents generally ignore what’s going on right in front of our eyes. We have work to do, and plenty of information to begin.
I’ll be speaking on this subject twice on Thursday, once for an interfaith clergy gathering at First Presbyterian Church. The other will be at a Leon County Schools parents’ forum hosted by Superintendent Jackie Pons. This Community Conversation will be held at the Turner Auditorium on the TCC Campus, Thursday from 6:00-7:00 p.m. If you can make it, we’d love to have you.
Please go online, and check out the survey and resources here. Follow the news, and let these organizations know how much you appreciate their work. Transformation cannot begin without information and conversation. Let’s hope this is the beginning of saving lives together as a community.