Community Parent Continues to Progress in Fenton

The discussion at the on April 26 was lively, fueled by a passion to keep the children of Fenton and the surrounding areas safe from drugs.

Community members spoke of their own experiences with drugs, and those of their children. And Community Parent Inc., the organization facilitating this discussion, continues to grow.

Community Parent is a new organization, formed in response to the deaths of three Fenton area young people earlier this year. The group's mission is “to provide the community the resources to educate and ensure safety for all children.”

Now with a presence on Facebook and Twitter, Community Parent seeks to give parents information to protect their children. More than 100 people attended the meeting, including representatives of various branches of local and state governments, and local law enforcement.

“We have the right people in the room,” said Joe Graves, Community Parent director of operations and Genesee County Commissioner.

In addition to the judges, state senator, state representative, mayors, and educators, parents and children joined in the discussion. The meeting consisted of a series of reports and remarks, followed by group breakout sessions.

The focus is on drugs in the Fenton area, particularly, but not exclusively, heroin.

“We still are complacent about this thing. We've got people dying,” said Ray Lord, of the Southern Genesee County Democratic Party.

Lord called for community members to put aside politics and address the issue. Judge Jennie Barkey and Sheriff Robert J. Pickell briefly discussed the kinds of grants that the organization may be eligible to apply for.

Tony Simmons, assistant principal of , gave a new measure of success for Community Parent: comfort.

He cited the work Community Parent has already done for making it more comfortable for him to use resources in the community to deal with problems, and for students to feel more comfortable talking about problems.

“Right now, it's already happening,” he said. Though there were 10 different areas of focus for the group breakout sessions, some ideas came up more than once—focusing on the danger of prescription drug abuse, providing education about the resources available to parents, and educating students about the risks of drugs.

Several community members spoke of their own experiences with drugs, or those of their children. Ideas were exchanged on legislative efforts, drug testing in schools, parent education, and the creation of a drug offender registry.

On May 10, “Chasing the Dragon,” a drug awareness program, will be presented at , at 9:30 a.m. That night, there will be an educational program with a spiritual component at The Freedom Center, a local church.

In light of these activities, the next meeting of Community Parent will be May 17 at 7 p.m. at the Fenton Township Office, instead of May 10.