Drug Use Awareness and Prevention Workshop

As youth become teens and young adults it becomes less and less clear how to relate to them. We know that there are important things that they are supposed to learn from the adults in their lives, and yet they seem to tune out when we bring up these important topics. In this workshop, parents and concerned adults will learn a bit about the developmental tasks and challenges that teens and young adults face, and how to relate in a way that keeps communication honest, open, and transparent. Practical considerations will be addressed with a focus on how much “common sense” and impulse control we can realistically expect from the young people we care for, with open discussion of how folks have managed the topic of drug abuse and addiction in the past and how to know if our message has been successfully received.

Ann Ronayne is a counselor with 10 years’ experience working with teens and young adults. She is currently the coordinator of Youth Empowered for Success (YES), a CFS program that takes an individualized therapeutic approach to helping youth and young adults improve self-awareness, develop resilience, build supportive relationships in the interest of preventing drug abuse and addiction.