Drug And Alcohol Abuse Program Planned At Geneva H.S.

GENEVA, IL — Geneva High School will host another presentation aimed to educate the public on the reality of drug and alcohol abuse among students. Three speakers, including a non-profit founder and mother of a recovering addict, will share their stories at "Wake Up Call," a 21-and-older event set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the high school. A resource fair with information tables on local support services will follow the speakers.

All speakers will be from Your Choice to Live, Inc., a drug and alcohol abuse prevention program for students, parents and communities. It's a follow-up to an event last year that brought about 400 people from the community to the school to listen to recovering drug addict Tim Ryan.

The speakers this time around may touch on vaping, an activity that's become more and more common among high school students.

“Student vaping, among other substances, continues to be on the rise. This is not just a national issue; it’s a Geneva issue,” Geneva High School Principal Tom Rogers said. “The only way to combat this trend is by opening up an honest dialogue with our parents and community.

"GHS staff will be on hand after the presentation to share with parents what we are seeing and managing in our schools.”

Anchorpoint – Adolescent Consultant Group, Gateway Foundation, Geneva Police Department, National Alliance on Mental Illness – Kane, DeKalb and Kendall Counties, Northwestern Medicine Behavioral Health Services, Rosecrance Health Network, Stenzel Clinical Services and Wellness Within of Fox Valley will be among the groups represented at the resource fair.

Event organizers say the hope is that the conversation about drug abuse among teens "provides a new angle about warning signs and methods for successful intervention."

“We believe this event will help provide parents with necessary tools to guide their kids toward good decisions about substance use, and also educate parents about how to better monitor their kids’ activities, especially at home," said Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon, the chairman of the Juvenile Justice Council. “Substance use puts kids at risk for entering the criminal justice system. Our goal is to keep them out of the system and to keep them safe. We are thrilled to be partnering with the Geneva School District 304 to get this message out.”

Image: Geneva High School, via Google Maps screenshot