Natalie Toomey's heard it all before.

Don't drink. Don't smoke. Steer clear of trouble. And just say no.

Yet when confronted Friday with former gang members, the realities of teen pregnancy and pitfalls of drug use, such cliched cautions gained new meaning.

"It kind of gives you a reality check," the 17-year-old Elgin High School junior said. "When you're reminded of the effects and you see what's happening to people your age, you see things in a whole different light."

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