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Communities Connecting = Creative Solutions

For the 14th consecutive year, the Community Coalition for Children is offering a two-day, in-depth program that's free and open to the public on a subject that has a major impact on students, families, and communities.

The subject of this year's program on Oct. 25 and 26 is alcohol- and drug use among teens. Statistics indicate that, nationwide, teen drug use has gone down during the past 30 years, yet the numbers also show that in the past two years alone, there's been an increase of 10 to 14 percent in teen alcohol- and marijuana use.

Jeff Wolfsberg, a recognized leader in the world of school-based drug education and early intervention, will address this topic at this year's coalition event.

"The use of alcohol is so pervasive among young people today-it's a cultural phenomenon," says Loren Sterman, board chairman of the Community Coalition and a clinical social worker with a private practice in Guilford. "As a community we need to embrace this as an incredibly important issue."

Sterman, who worked with Wolfsberg for the last decade while she was the school social worker at The Williams School in New London, asked Wolfsberg to head up this year's program because, she says, "He's brilliant. He brings humor to the table and makes [the subject] palatable for kids. They love him. He can really connect with them-and with parents."

Wolfsberg described the philosophy of his program to me in a recent interview.

You talk about 'shared accountability.' Why is this so important in addressing young people's use of alcohol and drugs?

It's far too common an experience that when I'm working with law enforcement they blame parents and schools. When I work with schools, they blame police and parents. And when I work with parents, they blame schools and police. Oddly, when I work with parents, police, and schools, they blame teens. Shared accountability is the recognition that the solution is not riding in on a white horse, but that we are the solution.

Is this program sponsored by the Community Coalition a good example of what more communities should be engaging in?

Yes. Any social movement starts with dialogue. We're in a time now that people are more polarized, overwhelmed, isolated, stressed out, and exhausted. Gatherings like the coalition event are crucial. Juanita Brown, the co-creator of the World Café, an organization that creates environments in which people can engage in dialogue, says that there are two fundamental beliefs about human life. First, we humans want to talk together about things that matter to us. Second, as we talk together, we're able to access a greater wisdom that is found only in the collective…What I find fascinating about events like this is that all the answers will be in the room that night.

Why does your program work where other alcohol- and drug-prevention programs have failed?

I think it was Albert Einstein who said that if he had an hour to solve a problem and his life depended on it, he would spend the first 55 minutes getting the question right and the last five minutes answering the problem. When it comes to a national perspective on drug education, we are asking the wrong question-'Is drug education effective?' The question should be 'Is drug education helpful?' and, if so, to whom, how, and why? The national and mainstream tone on teen drug education is abstinence-based…We are always going to have a percentage of the teen and adult population saying 'Yes' to drugs. It's ignorant to develop a national approach to teen [substance] use that is abstinence-based (sex included). Drug education programs should have two goals: First, to support and encourage those student who want to live a life alcohol- and other-drug-free and, second, for those teens who say 'Yes,' to help them to not let their relationship with substances become destructive-what is often referred to as 'Harm Reduction.'

Are you hopeful that programs like yours can make a real difference?

We will never have a drug-free society. There will always be a percentage of our population, both adults and teens, drawn to the use of substances. I do think my approach to drug education is effective. I have endless examples from former students now in college or in their 20s who have emailed or called me with thanks…Many if not all the great social movements began with a few people sitting around sharing ideals. The culture of drug use in our country is no different. The coalition is creating opportunities for this type of social change dialogue.

On Monday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Garde Arts Center in New London, Wolfsberg will give a talk titled "Hey, Did You Ever Try Drugs? Guiding Kids in an Era of Alcohol and Other Drugs." The public, including kids 12 and older are welcome. On Tuesday, Oct. 26 Wolfsberg will facilitate a workshop for local middle-school and high-school students at Connecticut College. For more information on the program, call 860-444-4790 or visit www.communitycoalitionforchildren.org.

Amy J. Barry lives and writes in Stony Creek. Email her at aimwrite@snet.net. Read more of her Parent's Eye View columns on www.zip06.com; select Parent's Eye View from the Living pull-down menu.