Pubdate: Thu, 18 Nov 2004 Source: Saugus Advertiser (Saugus, MA) http://www2.townonline.com/saugus/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=127698 Copyright: 2004 CommunitysNewspapers Inc. Contact: http://www2.townonline.com/saugus/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3559 Author: Stephanie Southworth DRUG FORUM OFFERS RESOURCES, INSIGHT For the better part of a month and a half town officials have been cautioning that there is a drug and alcohol abuse problem among young adults and teenagers in Saugus. But nothing makes it more apparent than reading the most recent fire log. On Tuesday, Nov. 9 a call was made to the department to report a 24-year-old female overdosed on drugs. Again on Friday, Nov. 12 a mother called the department to report her 24-year-old son had taken 54 Adavans. Items like these are all too common in both the police and fire logs. In order to help combat this problem, a group of town officials and professionals on the issue of drug and alcohol abuse held a forum on the Saugus cable access channel last Thursday. The forum, a call-in program, addressed everything from warning signs of an addiction to hotline numbers that can be used to receive help to recent new programming aimed to prevent this problem from continuing in the middle school. During the forum, School Superintendent Dr. Keith Manville told viewers that the group of officials and professionals weren't there to do anything more than help get information out to residents. The impetus of the forum and revitalization of the Saugus Speaks Out Committee was a survey taken by both middle and high school students that indicated there is a serious drug and alcohol abuse problem among these individuals. "We believe this is more than a school problem. This is a town problem," Manville said. As he has mentioned before, Manville said a red flag for him was that results showed 20 percent of eighth graders at Belmonte Middle School said they went home to an empty house and drank alone. "This is a community problem. Our goal is not to place blame or beg, it's merely to dispense information," Manville said. "We invite you to join us in combating this issue so we can say we have improved the drug problem and have a better town for it." Ellen Faiella , chaiirman of Saugus Speaks Out and member of the School Committee, said that the ages of the individuals using drugs and trying alcohol is "frightening." "Our focus needs to be on the middle school because that is the age that is most vulnerable," she said. In an effort to emphasize the problem, Dr. Joseph DiPetro from the Norht Shore Medical Center and also a member of Saugus Speaks Out, offered his experience working with addicts. DiPetro said the problem has emerged over time, to the point where younger children are now being exposed to drugs and alcohol and are tempted to try them. "Doing drugs and drinking alcohol becomes a way of socialization and the youth gets caught up in the culture of it," DiPetro said. As for treatment, DiPetro said there is a shortage of resources to treat and long wait lists at treatment centers, some anywhere from two to three months. "The problem is falling back on the communities for them to pick up the ball," DiPetro said. Warning signs for parents to look for include changes in behavior and performance, anger and difficulties in relationships. He told parents to watch for stolen or missing items from their homes. Increase or lack of sleep, chronic health problems or being run down and an inability to stay awake in class could all be signs of an addiction, DiPetro said. "If your child doesn't finish his or her thoughts, tends to wander off .this is an effect of the substances on the central nervous system," he said. Realities of drug and alcohol abuse With an increase in drug and alcohol use amongst youth also comes an increase in crime around the community. Police Chief James McKay explained there are three crime groups addicts fall into. The first group are those who use drugs, which is a crime itself. The second group is a more elevated group that is more involved in drugs, which causes risky or deviant behavior and violent episodes. The third group is elevated to addicts who participate in crimes to support their habits. These crimes include robbery, breaking and entering and fraud. "Historically the police departments focus on the enforcement of (the law)," McKay said. But as part of the community effort, McKay said the department would be making a commitment to be involved in education awareness. The department, he said, is currently in the process of putting together an information Web site. Det. Jim Donovan is a narcotics officer in the Saugus Police Department. What he sees on the streets, he said, is more and more teens using heroin and oxycontins. Because of the purity of the heroin on the streets these days, the youth are able to snort it rather than inject it to get high. With the stigma of injecting something into their bodies being gone, heroin use is on the rise. In the coming weeks Donovan will speak to students in the seventh and eighth grade classes at Belmonte. He plans on being honest with the students and showing them what the drugs look like, how they make you feel and the down side of using drugs. But the most important people in the children's lives, McKay said, are the parents themselves. Parents can keep their children from using drugs by being good role models, setting limits for their children and getting involved in their children's activities. Donovan said it's been his experience that students even at the high school level are looking for some involvement from their parents in their lives. "The kids are saying they don't want their parents to pick them up and drop them off for games but they'd like to see their parents cheering them on from the sidelines," Donovan said. In an attempt to reach the students at the most impressionable age, a program has been put together at the middle school to address drugs and alcohol. Youth and Recreation Director Greg Nikolas said he has been working in conjunction with two science teachers at the middle school on a wellness module. Nikolas goes into the classroom once a week (six classes) and talks candidly with the students. What he's found, he said, is disturbing. "We're giving the students a chance to talk about this issue in a safe environment," he said. "And we're helping them to make the right choices." Hotline numbers Saugus Police Department Enforcement Unit 781-941-1149 Al-Anon Family Groups 508-366-0556 or 508-366-4663 (with voicemail) Alcoholics Anonymous 617-426-9444 CSAP Center for Abuse Prevention 800-327-5050 Narcotics Anonymous 866-624-3578 Parental Stress Hotline 800-632-8188 Suicide Crisis Hotline (Samaritans) 617-247-0220 Informational Web sites www.freevibe.com www.newenglandna.org www.aaboston.org www.al-anon-alateen.org www.helpline-online.com www.niaaa.nih.gov www.uwmb.org/firstcall.htm www.ncadi.samhsa.gov www.dafa.org www.drugabuse.gov www.kidsincrisis.org