Where was our village?

Dear Editor:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank several people for participating in our Town Hall Meeting on April 3 at Manning High School.

June Briggs, Father David Thurlow, Dr. George Green and Chief Randy Garrett served on our panel. Michelle Nienhius from the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Services served as moderator. Michael George, also from DAODAS, assisted our staff as well, and Karl Kakadelis was our guest speaker for the event. Our staff did an excellent job in presenting some serious issues facing our community. The sad news is there were very few parents or other community leaders there to listen.

In my 33 years of working with substance abusers in Clarendon County, it has always been heartbreaking to see the destruction encountered when someone in the family is abusing alcohol and/or other drugs. When the substance problem involves a youth, it is even more devastating.

The facts are alarming: over 65 percent of surveyed youth report that they got the alcohol they drink from friends or family members. The current “drug of choice” for young people is now liquor, with the second most popular being “alcopops,” which are readily available in many stores in our community. In any past 30 day period, 50 percent of seniors in high school report drinking alcohol, with 32 percent reporting being intoxicated at least once during that period. Under-aged drinking contributes to youth violence, traffic crashes, high-risk sexual activity, pregnancies involving fetal alcohol syndrome, and increased behavioral problems in schools for teachers and administrators. Overall, under-aged drinking costs South Carolina over $899 million each year. These facts, as well as other vital information, were shared at this forum. It is important that parents become educated and armed with such information so that we can join together to help our town combat this increasing problem.

An old saying goes “it takes a village to raise a child,” and I wonder whether the lack of parental involvement at forums like this is why so many of our children are involved in alcohol and other drugs, gangs and other negative behaviors that lead to incarceration or even death.

If the saying is true, where is our village?

Sincerely,
Ann Kirven
Executive Director
Clarendon Behavioral Health Services