notMYkid to hand out drug-test kits in anticipation of 420 (National Get High Day)

A Scottsdale-based national organization is mounting a pre-emptive strike against what is known as 420, or National Get High Day. notMykid  will hand out free drug-test kits to parents on the day before April 20, also known as “National Pot-Smoking Day.”

notMYkid co-founder Debbie Moak says the organization has found that kids who know there is a drug test in their home are empowered to avoid peer-pressure situations because they have a valid excuse: “I can’t, my parents might drug test me.”

Many kids have told her that they don’t want to do drugs, but they “feel so much pressure, like no one in the world is not using,” Moak says. “It makes me angry that parents can take so much of that pressure off their kids and don’t. When it comes to drugs, we [as parents] need to do more than just talk.”

After watching her son go through drug addiction and recovery, Moak, her husband Steve and Mark Rohde, Ph.D., started notMykid in 2000. The organization strives to educate the community, both parents and kids, about the consequences of drug use and other negative behaviors. Although originally only focused on substance abuse, notMYkids now sends young adults to talk to middle and high school students about substance and alcohol abuse as well as eating disorders, depression, self-injury, safe dating, bullying and Internet safety. According to Moak,  speakers reach 100,000 or more Arizona students a year through these school visits.

Parents shouldn’t wait until a crisis to intervene in their child’s life, Moak advises. “Stand up and be pro-active.”

First Check home drug tests will be provided free to parents on Thursday, April 19.

Nine locations nationwide will give out drug tests as part of notMYkid
on 420. The organization expects to hand out 6,000 free drug tests — 1,000 in Arizona alone. All are being donated by First Check.

Kits will be available at notMYkid’s national headquarters, 5230 E. Shea Blvd. #100 in Scottsdale, from 9am to 5 pm. Partner organization Rural/Metro will hand out kits at the Southwest Ambulence Headquarters, 708 W. Baseline Rd. in Mesa, from 7am to 5pm. — Amy Vogelsang

ICAN breaks ground with help of Justice O’Connor

Sandra Day O'Connor.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor will be the guest speaker at a groundbreaking ceremony for a project that will allow the ICAN Community Center to expand its services to at-risk youth by 55 percent.

The ceremony will take place at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 18 at Folley Memorial Park in Chandler.

For more than 20 years, the ICAN Community Center has offered preventative programming to at-risk youth, providing free academic and recreational programming and empowering kids to avoid drug use, gang activity and crime and become active contributors to the community. About 150 youth per day are currently being served.

O’Connor’s “commitment to youth and children’s rights, and her continued recognition of social equity for kids” makes her alignment with the project particularly significant, says ICAN Community Center CEO Christy McClendon.

Also present at the ceremony will be Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny, members of the City Council, ICAN’s board of directors and contributors to the project.

ICAN’s current facility, located in the Chandler Redevelopment Area, has 6,000 square feet of space. The 5.6 million dollar new facility will grow that area by 15,000 square feet, sitting on 2.5 acres in its new location at Folley Memorial Park.

It will include six classrooms, a half gym, a learning center, offices and conference rooms. Construction is scheduled to wrap up in the summer of 2012.

The groundbreaking ceremony will include a virtual tour of the new facility, which will be outlined on the ground at the site, as well as the interment of a 20-year time capsule.

Light refreshments and food will be served during the groundbreaking event, which is free and open to the public.

For more information about the event, or about ICAN, call 480-821-4207 or visit icanaz.org. — Sadie Smeck

Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor talks about the Our Courts project, a website designed to boost interest among middle schoolers about civics education. With interactive games for students and curriculum builders for teachers, O’Connor’s vision is to inspire students of the 21st century to remain active participants in our democracy. RAK Podcasts.

Parents learn how to deal with teen drinking

If you have teenagers, consider having breakfast without them this Wednesday. It might be the most loving thing you could do.

notMYkid is hosting an educational event Wednesday morning called Rethinking Drinking: What’s the Buzz. The event, to be held at Congregation Beth Israel in Scottsdale will cover teen alcohol abuse and the roles and responsibilities that parents carry today.

“Underage drinking and binge drinking is a huge problem in our community and notMYkid wants to educate parents about the problems and the implications of alcohol — not only medically and physically but also legally,” says Jill Woods, senior director at notMYkid.

The breakfast program will take place from 8 to 9:30 a.m. It will repeat at lunchtime, from 12 to 2 p.m., for parents who can’t make the earlier session. Paradise Bakery is providing a continental breakfast for the morning session and box lunches for the afternoon session.

Koren Zailckas.

Koren Zailckas, author of the bestselling book Smashed, will tell her story about how she started drinking starting at the age of 14. Experts tell parents about their roles and signs to look for when dealing with teen drinking.

 

“Parents will learn the signs and symptoms of alcohol use, why alcohol is bad for people under the age of 21, teen trends in alcohol consumption and the penalty for adults supplying alcohol to minors,” says Woods.

To register, click here.

3moms helps spread awareness about the dangers of substance abuse

3moms volunteers Jane Duffey, Cindy Sierzchula and Cindy Keith.

A nontraditional approach to substance abuse education prevention and awareness is what makes 3moms unique. It brings parents together and puts a face on substance abuse through parent-to-parent contact.

“We encourage parents to spend time with their kids, talk about serious issues like substance abuse and build relationships based on trust and respect in which both the child and parent can be honest with one another,” says Kim Obert, one of the original 3moms and chair of the organization.

Obert lost her son Kent to an accidental overdose of oxycontin when he was 18. Obert, along with several other Valley mothers, approached the Arizona Affiliate of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America in 2008 to share stories of their lives and the impact of a child’s drug use on families.

“The moms, along with the Partnership, recognized that it’s not a matter of if but when children are going to be approached to try drugs or alcohol, and that we as a community must do everything we can to keep them from experimenting,” Obert says. “This unique concept of moms talking to moms is to encourage everyone who hears our message to share the information with at least three other moms or caregivers, creating a network that will make a positive impact on our community.”

It is challenging to get teens and parents to communicate about drugs.

“Only one third of teens report that their parents have had a conversation with them about drugs,” Obert says. “We’d like all parents to feel comfortable having this conversation with their children. Would you rather your kids learn about drugs from a friend or older kids? Or would you prefer to have that potentially lifesaving discussion with them? We can help.”

According to Obert, another challenge is getting parents and teens to understand the dangers of abusing medicine that is in their own homes. The intentional misuse and abuse of prescription pain relievers by teens in Arizona is nearly double the national average.

“The problem here is twofold; parents and caregivers aren’t educated on the dangers of prescription and other drug use, and they need to start talking with their kids,” Obert says. “Thankfully, statistics show that when parents and kids talk early and often about drugs, children are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs.”

Getting all of the information out may be challenging, but the heartbreak of losing a child is the real challenge that these moms face.

“I cry and I pray. Cope? I don’t think that I cope. I just live with it,” Obert says. “Since my heart was so broken when my son died, I can share a lot of the emotions — sadness, guilt, grief, anger, and frustration — that parents with drug addicted kids can go through. I try to focus outwardly on the needs of others instead of my own grief.”

To learn more about 3moms and to get involved, visit the Arizona Affiliate website at PartnerUpAz.org or the national Partnership website at drugfree.org.