I’m still catching up our readers on past events! We’ve done so much this year.
About 75 people — nearly half of them teenagers — gathered at 6 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church in Wheeling to listen to presentations by local drug and alcohol counselors and prevention specialists.
According to the coalition, youth alcohol use in Ohio County is third highest in the state, and a majority of Ohio County teens reported they see little or no harm in drinking alcohol.“It’s a big problem in this area,” said Ken Boyle, a drug and alcohol counselor for adolescents at Youth Services System in Wheeling.
On the other hand, 66 percent of Wheeling Park High School students reported they think it’s wrong for adults to host teen drinking parties, according to Kristen Kroflich (pictured above), coalition project director, citing a survey conducted by the law firm Gold, Khourey and Turak.“That’s a good number. We want people to know what these youth are saying. Youth can make a difference,” Kroflich said.
The Wheeling meeting kicked off with a digital video presentation created by members of We Are the Future, a nonprofit youth group dedicated to social change.