Schools

PMHS Students Give Their Take on Drugs and Alcohol

PMHS students share what they gained from a substance abuse focused event on Tuesday evening

Seven Pelham Memorial High School students shared what they learned at a half-day event focused on leading drug- and alcohol free lives on Tuesday night.

Moderator Shaun Derik led a presentation at PMHS where several students spoke about what they gained from the “Live Chat 2011” event on March 16. The one-day peer gathering event, organized by PACT, invited 80 Pelham high schoolers—selected at random—to engage in projects and express their feelings about substance abuse and what they truly value in life.

“Kids need to ask more questions and find out what kind of person they really want to be," implored Derik.

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Derik, who says he is a “27-year-old kid,” left his banking job four years ago to pursue a career where he would have a greater impact on students’ lives. He now travels around the country and abroad as a youth advocate, talking with students, encouraging them to “live out loud” and empowering them to make the choices that are right for them.

Derik was a likely partner for PACT, which was founded nearly 15 years ago by a group of Pelham residents who identified a need to help young people make healthful, safe and substance-free choices.

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"It’s showing the kids that you can have a good time without alcohol or other drugs," stated Heidi Carey who works on organizing events like Live Chat 2011. "In Pelham, the students communicated that there is a great deal going on and there is a fine line between occasional drinking and binge drinking and many kids are concerned about it," continued Carey

Omar Guda, one who attended Live Chat 2011, said that working with kids his own age who share similar values, was very satisfying. He mentioned that the March 16 event did not feel as if they were learning, even though they were.

“Students were put together based on favorite toothpaste, and got assigned tasks like building a marshmallow tower," remarked Guda. "It was cool how they taught us how much fun you can have without drugs or alcohol. Without formally teaching that point, we were actually having fun...without drugs or alcohol."

Matt Dore wrote a rap that was inspired by a youth conference he attended last summer. "I wanted people to see that someone like me can be drug free and promote the drug free lifestyle,” he said.

About 50 parents and other community members attended the talk held in the PMHS cafeteria. The students raised some thought-provoking questions that some parents said, made them feel uneasy.

  • How well do you think you know your children?
  • Why do you think your children will drink or do drugs?
  • Teens say that they are bored, why?
  • What are the pros and cons of social media?
  • How would you react to the knowledge of your child doing drugs or alcohol?
  • Do you think peer pressure is worse now then when you were a child?
  • What percentage of teens do you think in Pelham are using drugs or alcohol?

 Along with the tough questions, came quite a few inspiring words.

“Don’t do something you like, do something you love,” encouraged Derik.

 


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