The Laker/Lutz News

ASAP

Panel discusses race, social justice issues in America

By

Finding meaningful solutions to enduring race and social justice issues in America — begins first with open, honest, respectful conversations with one another.

That was the overarching theme of a group of panelists taking part in a virtual seminar called “Equity in our Nation.”

Tim Beard is president of Pasco-Hernando State College (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

The Sept. 14 event, hosted by Pasco-Hernando State College, brought together local speakers of diverse race and religious backgrounds.

The panelists spent three hours expressing their views on the current state of America, and offering suggestions for how to improve systems to increase fairness, justice and educational equities.

Social justice issues have come front and center — in the wake of persistent nationwide protests in response to incidents of police brutality and other racially motivated violence against Blacks.

Having a safe haven in higher education and faith-based structures to debate differing ideas and have meaningful dialogue is the foundation to facilitate change in what’s become a nation divided in recent months, said PHSC president Tim Beard.

Beard, who is Black, put it like this: “We all perhaps would agree that our country is very divided right now. I’ve never seen it this divided in my little short 58 years. I think it’s going to take sessions and platforms to learn how to listen to each other. None of us know it all, but together, we can make America a great nation.”

James V. Williams is senior pastor of Clearwater’s Mt. Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church. (Courtesy of Mt. Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church)

That message resonates with Pasco Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Bryan Banner.

In a period rife with social unrest, Banner has “serious skin in the game” being a Black man who works in law enforcement, and who has three sons.

“I always say: I don’t think there’s much that can’t be solved over coffee and some conversations. That’s just my approach to life and problem-solving,” said Banner. “Before we point guns at each other, before we take up arms and kill each other, how about we attempt to have a conversation?”

Panelists also agreed that being humble and treating others how you want to be treated are paramount to improving society, on the whole.

Protesters stood on the side of the road at the intersection of State Road 56 and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, chanting slogans during a peaceful protest on June 6 to try to raise awareness for the need to take action to end systemic racism. (File)

“When you have a problem, you don’t fix the problem by becoming the problem,” said James Williams, a Black senior pastor at Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal Church in Clearwater.

“In this nation, we’ve come to a place where we reach conclusions about someone based on the narrative of the day. What do I mean? Instead of giving a person the opportunity to show you their character, we generalize them, we’ve come to a conclusion about them, based on a previous experience. …What if we give people the opportunity to show us their character, before assuming that they are what we’ve experienced?,” Williams said.

Rabbi Jeff Zaremsky of Beth El-Shalom in New Port Richey and St. Petersburg similarly observed “loving one another” and “having a heart that puts the other person first and cares about them” can collectively instill sustainable social justice throughout communities.

Black in America
A significant portion of discussion veered into the Black experience in America.

Pasco-Hernando State College trustee Al Hernandez (Courtesy of Pasco-Hernando State College)

AdventHealth West Pasco/North Pinellas community engagement coordinator Trevor Williams underscored the struggles people of color face today in the U.S., resulting from what he claimed is a nation originally founded “on racist beliefs and the notion of white supremacy.”

Those ideals, Williams said, remain steeped in policies and procedures “that are not made to factor in minorities and furthers the gap of equality.”

As an example, he said, “Black people who commit a crime are more likely to receive a harsher punishment compared to a white person who committed the very same crime with the same exact background.”

Williams, who is Black, also detailed how segregation is still prevalent in school systems, noting large percentages of Black and Latino students receive a weaker quality of education growing up in poorer communities, therefore placing them at a greater disadvantage in health and social outcomes compared to white counterparts.

He then summed up the obstacles overall: “Let’s just say that if my name was “Travaris” and not “Trevor” my chances of receiving a callback for an application would be cut in half.”

Pasco Alliance for Substance Addiction Prevention (ASAP) community health coordinator Bonni Snider supplemented those points — stating people of color have felt invisible and marginalized throughout American history.

“For years, minorities have been thought of as less than human; thought of as more of a condition than a person,” Snider said.

It’s something Snider has experienced firsthand, as a biracial woman.

“I have been asked numerous times, ‘What are you?’ and when I hear that question, it makes me think I’m seen more as an object than I am as a person. My response typically is, ‘I’m a human.’

“How many times can a non-minority, someone who’s Caucasian, say that they’ve experienced those same things?”

Snider went on to reference the provision of the original 1787 U.S. Constitution, which allowed Southern states to count slaves as three-fifths of a person in population counts.

Rod Cunningham, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) community outreach director (File)

The so-called Three-Fifths compromise, she reasoned, perpetuated the marginalization of Blacks for generations.

“If you fast forward, Blacks have often been seen for many years as waiters, cooks, shoe shines, field hands, service individuals, and when you think about service individuals, we don’t see them until we want something from them or until we want to ask them a question,” Snider said.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) community outreach director Rod Cunningham echoed those beliefs, too.

Cunningham, who is Black, shared how he’s been blessed to have a 29-year military career, received a quality education, robust financial situation and stable family life in the U.S.

But, he emphasized, “If I get pulled over (by police), I don’t feel so privileged, because my black skin won’t always get me out of that situation.”

Systemic racism and classism, Cunningham said, is underscored today in the U.S., via mass incarceration, privatized prisons, crime laws and so on.

He argued such systems have kept down people of color because society has been conditioned to reject convicts — through stripping voting rights and limited career prospects, exacerbating recidivism.

Cunningham observed: “At one point you’re gonna get frustrated making $9 an hour, and you’re going to do something illegal…”

Equity starts with personal responsibility
Preventing negative outcomes and other challenges minorities face can be mitigated with personal responsibility and demonstrating a strong moral and ethical compass, some panelists argued.

Al Hernandez, a member of the PHSC board of trustees, is an example of a minority living the American dream.

Hernandez, a Cuban immigrant, came to the U.S. “with two pennies and nothing else.”

Pasco Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Bryan Banner (Courtesy of Pasco Sheriff’s Office)

Today he’s a market vice president at Humana and proudly holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Nova Southeastern University.

With that, Hernandez pushed back on victimhood culture, which he believes has become all too prevalent in the U.S.

“We need to be careful, as we look at ourselves and our communities. The reality is, you’re going to make your life — you do have the responsibility and you do have the personal responsibility for yourself, for your family, for your kids.

“At the end of the day, we’re all Americans, and we’ve got to start seeing ourselves as Americans first, and really get to that point of view.”

He continued: “The reality is, we’re all going to encounter issues. We’re all going to encounter situations in life. Some of them, whether it’s fair or not, is somewhat irrelevant. It’s what you do with it, and how do you actually overcome these obstacles that are going to happen in your life.

“Personally, I don’t allow anybody or anything, regardless of whether I have an accent or not, to tell me or to change my career path or to change where I’m coming from. As a person, you have to have individual responsibility to work hard, to do what is required of you to be a good member of society.”

Zaremsky added onto those views.

“The change starts with us,” Zaremsky said. “We need to look at ourselves, and that’s where the change needs to take place, and having equal laws and equal ramifications for decisions—whether good decisions or bad decisions.”

Even with the ongoing calls for social justice, the Jewish leader put into perspective America’s eminence, also warning against the ills of socialism and communism.

“We’re the least prejudiced, with the least injustices. We’re the freest and most equal country in the world, thus we should not burn it down,” Zaremsky said.

“We keep from having an unjust balance of power by allowing freedom of speech—not censoring tweets of people we don’t like, or not allowing dissenting opinions on panel discussions or on college campuses.

“Echo chambers cause prejudice, injustice, and imbalance of power. Freedom — free speech, free market, religious freedom — are the best defenses against unjust, imbalances of power. Because of our wonderful constitution, every citizen can lawfully address injustices,” Zaremsky said.

Other panelists and speakers included Emery Ailes, PHSC LIFE (Linking Faith In Education) coordinator; Joe Bohn, University of South Florida College of Public Health professor and community engagement director; Shauna Hale, assistant U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Florida; Tonicia Freeman-Foster, Central Florida Behavioral Health Network change specialist; Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Shawn Crane; and, Imam Hassan Sultan, CEO of the Muslim Connection in Tampa.

Published September 30, 2020

Panelists share insights on youth issues in Pasco

By

Each summer, a panel of Pasco County teenagers share their perspectives on substance abuse and other problems facing youths, both in the community and in the school system.

Typically, the event is held at the community center at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park.

But, this time, panelists shared their insights again in a July 28 forum held virtually, in light of COVID-19.

The new format didn’t affect the substance: The panelists — who make up Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND) — still got their points across.

Pasco County youth from Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND) voiced their perspective on substance abuse, and other community and school issues, during a July 28 virtual meeting hosted by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). (File)

The forum was arranged by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). This the fifth year that STAND members addressed numerous community stakeholder groups.

They shared their views on various health and safety issues facing Pasco youths.

The group of youth leaders who make up STAND are working to end youth substance abuse in Pasco County by sharing their observations and knowledge with teachers, police, business owners and other community members.

Besides helping to build understanding, they also suggest solutions.

During the hour-long online discussion, STAND speakers warned that vaping, or the use of e-cigarettes, is a growing problem among youth countywide.

Anclote High School student Iker Dorta went so far as to label it “the biggest drug-related issue” in local high schools and middle schools.

Besides vaping nicotine, kids also vape THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana), and other illicit substances that can be smoked, he said.

Iker noted that vaping has become more popular among teens because it’s “easy to hide in your pocket and go to the bathroom and use it.”

Fellow STAND members agreed.

“Vaping is a huge problem in schools and such,” said Chasco Middle School student Alyssa Saldana. “I’ve had some of my friends tell me that one of their older friends offered them a vape, so it’s definitely a big problem that we need to start looking at more.”

Maddie Horn underscored the issue by recalling an incident during a Chasco Middle School pep rally when a student was caught vaping.

“I think it’s a very common thing that’s happening in all our schools,” said Horn, a rising freshman at Gulf High School.

Many teens get roped into substance use through peer pressure and they use substances to become popular, Horn said.

“It’s very much a popularity thing. So, like if one person does it and they become popular, everyone else will want to do it because they want that ‘fame’ in the school,” Horn said.

Besides vaping, marijuana use continues to be “a big issue,” said Land O’ Lakes High School student Jocelyn Meriwether.

“We have a lot of kids who think it’s a cool thing to do, and you have to, like, join the club of high school that way, through smoking weed in bathrooms and trying not to get caught.”

Greater focus needed on mental health
Using substances to become more popular is just one issue, panelists said.

Youths also turn to substances as a way to escape from dysfunctional home life, or to cope with inner feelings, they said.

They urged an increase in mental health services.

“Mental health is the key to everything right now,” Dorta said. “For a 15- or 16-year-old to go through trauma and leave it unchecked…really impales society as a whole, because that’s what’s going to make up our next generation as a whole, so the very next step before overcoming drugs and vaping, first, is taking hold of our minds.”

Panelists said that mental health must be taken more seriously by the Pasco County Schools —  from guidance counselors to teachers and administrators.

They advocate greater funding for staffing at schools to give students quick access to help, when they need to talk to someone about their problems.

As it stands now, instead of an open door policy, a student must make an appointment of sorts by placing a notecard in a counselor’s mailbox, Meriwether said.

Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND) is a program facilitated by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). The group of youth leaders who make up STAND strive to end youth substance abuse in Pasco County by educating teachers, police, business owners and other community members by sharing their observations, and suggesting solutions. (Courtesy of Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention)

“They’ll get to you when they get to you,” she said.

That can be problematic, she added.

“Some kids can’t wait. They need to talk and if they don’t have someone to talk to they’re going to go to drugs and skip over using their resources.

“We have those situations where we want to talk to somebody about this, but no one’s available,” Meriwether said.

Piggybacking off that thought, Horn mentioned some counselors won’t take a particular student’s mental health issues seriously. Instead, they write it off as teen angst.

Other times, she said, counselors just focus on a student’s grades — instead of talking to them about what has been bothering them at school, or outside of it.

Horn put it all like this: “Let’s say you’re being bullied. Like, you’ll go in talking about that issue, but then they’ll change to subject to, ‘Oh, how are your grades doing?’”

That, she added, “doesn’t make the bullying situation or whatever your situation is, any better.

“I don’t think there are enough people in our schools to help us going through our issues. Like the teachers say they can help, but they can only help when it’s convenient for them,” Horn said.

COVID-19’s far-reaching impacts
The unintended consequences of COVID-19 on school-age youth was another deep talking point among panelists.

With a lack of school structure, boredom at home and few extracurricular or athletic activities available — because of the pandemic — panelists said they’re not surprised if fellow teens are currently experimenting with new substances, or abusing them more frequently than they did before the pandemic hit.

Meriwether observed: “Kids now are at home and don’t have a lot to lose, so they’re trying new things. Parents will have stuff at home that kids can just get into, because it’s not being locked up, because everyone’s home all day.”

Safer-at-home orders also have allowed youth to hide side effects that otherwise might’ve been caught if they were in school or school-related activities, she added.

Because of that and other reasons, panelists generally seemed in favor of having some sort of option to return to brick-and-mortar schools.

Horn summed it up like this: “I get a little depressed because I’m not able to go and see my friends, and school was something I enjoyed. It’s very isolating to do online school for such a long time when you don’t have groups to attend and you don’t make friends outside of online school, so like I found peace in going to school. Like, the fact that I can’t go to school is very sad, because I like going to school, I like being around other people and seeing new faces, and it’s just easier to learn.”

Dorta, meantime, expressed worry for youth who’ve had to handle online learning in the face of troubling home or family environments.

Traditional schooling usually offers “a dip from harsh reality” for those kids,” he said.

“You can’t push online school onto a lot of people, especially when those kids have trouble at home. …Imagine if you’re bringing school to their house, which they can’t even feel safe or concentrate in,” he said.

Dorta wants to see schools reopen. But, he added: “Seeing how (COVID-19) is going on, I don’t know how it’d work and I don’t really know if it’s the best option, but knowing a lot of kids that are struggling, at least have them refer to a source that they can go to outside of their house.”

Others, including Gulf Middle School’s Yahkaira Barbosa, expressed hesitation about returning to school at the moment.

“I’m dying to go back to school, but the way things are, it’s probably best not to because it’s going to be awhile until a vaccine comes out,” Barbosa said.

Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND) is a program facilitated by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP).
STAND members include Iker Dorta, Anclote High School; Alyssa Saldana, Chasco Middle School; Jocelyn Meriwether, Land O’ Lakes High School; Maddie Horn, Gulf High School; Jakob Horn, Bayonet Point Middle School; Billy Kritsotakis, Harry Schwettmann Education Center; Joel Meriwether, Sunlake High School; Jeromy Vaughn, Gulf Middle School; Austin Vaughn, Chasco Middle School; and Cheyenne Howard, of Dade City.

STAND’s mission is to:

  • Change youth perspectives of drugs
  • Reduce accessibility of drugs
  • Reduce marketing of drugs to young people
  • Create an environment where young people in recovery can thrive

To learn more about STAND, contact ">.

Published August 19, 2020

Panel sheds light on youth drug use in Pasco

By

Speaking before a roomful of adults, a panel of teens offered their insights and observations about drug use among youths in Pasco County.

Marijuana use appears to be the biggest drug-related issue among youth across Pasco County, said the panelists, who are members of Safe Teens Against Drugs (STAND).

They said kids are increasingly turning to marijuana as a way to escape their personal problems.

From left: Maddie Horn, 12; Destiny Winter, 17; Jocelyn Meriwether, 14; Christos Loupis, 17; Austin Vaughan, 13; Ashley Dew, 19; Jeromy Vaughan, 14; and, Yahkaira Barbosa, 14. (Kevin Weiss)

“They’re not happy, they feel depressed, they have anxiety, so they smoke,” said panelist Destiny Winter. “They’re constantly trying to solve these problems by self-medicating instead of seeking help,” said the 17-year-old Anclote High student.

The group of youth leaders who make up STAND are determined to end youth substance abuse in Pasco County by educating teachers, police, business owners and other community members about their observations, and offering suggestions for solutions. The youth group is organized by the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP).

This is the fourth year that members of STAND have addressed members of numerous community stakeholder groups — in a forum arranged by ASAP — to talk about various health and safety issues facing Pasco youths.

Marijuana has become prevalent among teens because of peer pressure and relatively easy access to the substance, panelists told the audience.

And, the way it’s sensationalized in pop culture and social media hasn’t helped, either.

”It’s being influenced as cool, so they’re trying it out,” 14-year-old Land O’ Lakes High student Jocelyn Meriwether said.

“I believe it’s happening because of its popularization online by many celebrities, many singers or rappers that kids listen to,” added 14-year-old Gulf High student Jeromy Vaughan.

Moreover, the teens said the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida and throughout the country has contributed to the impression that it’s is OK to use, and a quick fix to cope with anxiety, boredom, sadness, depression and so on.

Winter pointed out that her peers aren’t adequately warned about marijuana’s side effects, such as withdrawals that can result from abusing the substance.

“They’re misled about how good it is for you,” said Winter, an Anclote varsity basketball player. “They’re told constantly about all these benefits from their peers and from social media, but they’re not told enough about what might not be good,” she said. “It’s just misinformation.”

The panelists also told those gathered at the Land O’ Lakes session that e-cigarettes and vaping, as well as vaping marijuana, are growing issues among teens.

They said it’s perceived as both cool to do and safer than smoking because it’s electronic and so prevalent in public spaces, such as parks and beaches.

Vaughan called vaping “the norm among this generation.”

“It’s become a very big problem,” the teen said. “Everyone believes it’s OK. Everyone does it. Everyone knows someone that does it, and still no one says anything about it.”

Added Winter: “I feel like many kids don’t understand the effects, they don’t understand we’re not quite sure yet what vaping is doing to our bodies and that there’s still research being done.”

Aside from drug use, 12-year-old Maddie Horn said youth violence is another issue in her community.

“A lot of kids are generally angry,” said Horn, “and it could come from things that are happening at home, and they don’t know how to cope with that.”

Besides talking about issues, STAND members offered some possible solutions.

They advocated for more mentorship programs, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, as well as more free afterschool programs, in general.

“I think partially just having safe spaces (would be good), places where kids can go after school that might not be home,” Winter said. “A lot of kids, especially in the area that we live in, don’t live in homes that are very supportive or leading them in the right direction.

“Where I live, the rec center is the only free place I can go to hang out and feel safe, really,” she said.

More robust education programs and awareness campaigns on the negative side effects of drug use might be another step in the right direction, panelists agreed.

“I remember last year we had three school assemblies and not a single one was about health or anything,” Vaughan said. “Just informing people about what happens when you do this kind of stuff and how your brain is affected, and how monumental it is compared to someone that doesn’t do it.”

Other STAND panelists present were: Ashley Dew, 19; Yahkaira Barbosa, 14; Christos Loupis, 17; Moriah Morales, 15; and, Austin Vaughan, 13.

STAND’s mission is to:

  • Change youth perspectives of drugs
  • Reduce accessibility of drugs
  • Reduce marketing of drugs to young people
  • Create an environment where young people in recovery can thrive

To learn more about STAND, contact .

Published July 10, 2019

Can human connection heal?

By

Austin Eubanks remembered with clarity the tragic day that forever changed his life, and, ultimately claimed it.

His best friend was killed instantly in front of him.

Then Eubanks was shot twice, in the hand and knee.

Eubanks was just 17 years old when he experienced and survived the massacre inside the library of Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.

Columbine shooting survivor Austin Eubanks was the keynote speaker at the annual ‘Strengthening Our Communities Conference on Mental Health and Drug Prevention’ in Wesley Chapel. He passed away just days later at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, at age 37. (Courtesy of AustinEubanks.com)

“I remember seeing my hand and knowing that I had been shot, but I couldn’t feel it,” Eubanks recalled. “I couldn’t connect to the emotion of it, or the physical pain of it, because I wasn’t present in my own body.”

That traumatic experience as a teen, as a survivor in the Columbine school shooting, was the catalyst to Eubanks’ painful journey through addiction and eventually into long-term recovery.

Eubanks put it like this: “I will never be the person I was on the morning of April 20, 1999. That boy did not walk out of the library that day. He was altered, forever.”

Eubanks shared his personal story as the keynote speaker at the annual “Strengthening Our Communities Conference on Mental Health and Drug Prevention,” held May 14 at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel.

The conference, hosted by Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) and Baycare Behavioral Health, is designed to increase public awareness and inspire action on mental health and substance abuse disorders.

Just a few days after the conference, the speaker was found dead from a suspected drug overdose at his home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He was 37.

In a statement, his family said Eubanks “lost the battle with the very disease he fought so hard to help others face. Helping to build a community of support is what meant the most to Austin, and we plan to continue his work.”

ASAP also expressed its sympathy on Eubanks’ passing in a released statement: “We extend our thoughts and prayers to Austin’s family and friends. Although he has passed too early, his voice will echo in our memories and actions forever.”

Before his untimely death, Eubanks addressed a crowd of nearly 500 people, to discuss the intersection of trauma, mental illness and addiction.

‘An emotional robot’
Shortly after the school shooting, Eubanks was prescribed opiates, benzodiazepines and stimulants for his physical injuries. He soon found the drugs helped him in other ways.

“From the moment I was medicated, that emotion (from Columbine) completely shut off. It was like somebody turned off a faucet,” Eubanks explained.

Nearly 500 people attended the annual ‘Strengthening Our Communities Conference on Mental Health and Drug Prevention,’ hosted by Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) and Baycare Behavioral Health. Columbine school shooting survivor Austin Eubanks was the keynote speaker at the May 14 event, at Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel. (Kevin Weiss)

“I learned very quickly how to turn myself into an emotional robot, with the combination of those three substances. I thought that I had found the answer, I never had to feel anything. I was taught how to seek the fast road to relief.”

Years later, at the height of his addiction, Eubanks said he was using upwards of 400 milligrams of the painkiller OxyContin per day, plus a host of other recreational drugs.

His drug of choice, he admitted, was “just more.”

Emotional healing through human connection
After a decade more of undergoing a cycle of addiction and relapse, Eubanks said he finally received the help he needed, at a long-term treatment center in Denver that accepted him free of charge.

It’s there he found the prescription he needed most: authentic human connection.

The treatment center helped him navigate the stages of grief through meaningful, personal relationships with others with similar, lived experiences.

“With emotional pain, in order to heal it, you have to feel it. It is essential to recovery,” Eubanks said.

He added: “What is so essential for emotional healing for all of us, is relying on others from a place of vulnerability and authenticity and transparency.”

The environment also provided him with structure and accountability, too, he said.

Eubanks said, “I had to finally admit that I knew nothing, and I had to trust somebody else enough to believe that they did, and I did everything that they told me to for long enough to where it became a pattern.”

Eubanks explained that after Columbine he didn’t return to school for his senior year, instead relied on a private tutor from home in order to graduate. The decision isolated himself from others, leaving him to rely on substances to cope with his emotional pain.

“I withdrew from human connection entirely. If you can create a better petri dish for addiction, I don’t know what it is,” the speaker said.

“I missed out on a lot of the collaborative, connected healing that many of my classmates experienced in our senior year, because I withdrew from that community entirely.”

Prevention and rehabilitation reforms needed
Eubanks discussed his ideas to combat the nation’s addiction crisis, which he blamed partly on increased accessibility, acceptability and toxicity of various substances.

The speaker called for greater efforts in implementing more systems of prevention and rehabilitation to curtail the demand for drugs.

He challenged the medical community to do a better job of integrating physical health and mental health. He also challenged the education community to put more focus on nurturing emotional intelligence in early childhood education, to increase the ability to relate to other people.

Eubanks then called for greater accessibility to long-term treatment for those who cannot afford its services. He also said the criminal justice system needs to place more emphasis on rehabilitation programs, specifically, by providing inmates a therapeutic continuum of care and teaching them pro-social behaviors.

Said Eubanks, “Drugs are always going to exist. We cannot eradicate these issues by combating them on the supply side. We have to curtail the demand.”

In addition to Eubanks, the conference featured presentations from Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco; Gail Ryder, Baycare Health Systems vice president of behavioral health; and Roderick Cunningham, Drug Enforcement Agency outreach program manager.

There was also a series of breakout sessions that focused on substance abuse prevention and recovery efforts, among other topics.

Published May 29, 2019

Youth vaping a growing concern in Pasco

By

Health officials in Pasco County are concerned about rising numbers of local teens who are using electronic cigarettes, or vaping.

Last year, about 25 percent of Florida high school students reported current use of electronic vaping, according to the Florida Department of Health. That marked a staggering 58 percent increase compared to 2017.

Representatives from the Florida Department of Health of Pasco County discussed youth e-cigarette use at a recent community meeting hosted by the Pasco Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). (Kevin Weiss)

The figures might be even higher in Pasco County, according to Jenae Haddocks, a health educator with the Florida Department of Health in Pasco County.

“What we’re seeing is Pasco is above average as far as youth initiation in e-cigs and vape use, and above state average for that, so that’s not good,” Haddocks said at a recent community meeting hosted by the Pasco Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park.

“We’re having a hard time trying to address it,” she added.

Exacerbating the vaping issue, Haddocks said, is a lack of oversight by e-cigarette retailers, along with a lack of regulation on e-cig products and flavors by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Haddocks pointed out e-cigs and related products can be purchased online with minimal or no type of age verification. “Kids can go online and purchase these products. It’s kind of surprising,” she said.

E-cigarette devices heat a liquid that produces an aerosol, or vapor. That liquid usually contains nicotine, flavorings and other chemicals.

Long-term health effects of vaping remain unknown.

However, some of the ingredients in e-cigarette aerosol could be harmful to the lungs in the long-term, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Moreover, the Florida Department of Health reports that the CDC has stated that that a single e-cig liquid pod of the popular e-cigarette brand JUUL contains as much nicotine as a pack of 20 regular cigarettes.

Haddocks suggested e-cigarettes makers are marketing to youth and teenagers with pods that have “candylike or sweet flavoring” – flavors like bubblegum, fruit punch, candy cane, and crème brulee, to name a few.

The speaker noted the labeling of some of these pods even resemble that of candy products such as Sour Patch Kids or Bubblicious Original Bubble Gum. Such labeling makes e-cigs seem less harmful and more appealing for teens to try, Haddocks said.

The Florida Department of Health has seen a staggering increase in the number of teenagers vaping or using electronic cigarettes. (Courtesy of Florida Department of Health)

Currently, the JUUL brand and related sweet vapor flavorings, Haddock noted, “are really, really popular among youth right now.”

She put it like this: “Of course, adults do like those flavorings, but who’s more likely to buy bubble gum or Bubblicious at a gas station — a 12-year-old or a 35-year-old?”

Aside from nicotine and other unknown chemicals, the speaker went on to explain that e-cigarettes and vape products can be manipulated with illicit substances.

Haddocks said some Pasco County teens have been caught with e-cig pods that test positive for alcohol, THC, cannabis and other substances.

Said Haddocks: “They’re smoking things laced with who knows what and they don’t know half the time, so that’s kind of turning into an even bigger issue that we’re seeing.”

She added: “It’s kind of a growth issue that we have right now in Pasco.”

Meanwhile, Haddocks said general tobacco use among children under 18 years old remains “a big issue” in the county.

She pointed out the younger that someone is when first trying tobacco, the more likely that person is to become a lifelong tobacco user, or to abuse tobacco for years to come.

“Ninety percent of adult smokers begin at or before the age of 18. It’s a huge concern,” she said.

To better combat such youth initiation, Haddocks advised the community to educate youth on the dangers of tobacco products and other drugs.

Published May 01, 2019

Addiction recovery community organization forming in Pasco

By

New long-term addiction recovery services may soon be headed to Pasco County, by way of what’s called a Recovery Community Organization.

A Recovery Community Organization, otherwise known as an RCO, is an independent, nonprofit organization led and governed by representatives of local communities of recovery, which organizes recovery-focused policy advocacy activities, carries out recovery-focused community education and outreach programs, and provides peer-based recovery support services.

Dozens of community members participated in a Feb 26 listening session in Land O’ Lakes on the possible formation of a Recovery Community Organization, to help bring more long-term addiction recovery services coming to Pasco. A Recovery Community Organization is an independent nonprofit, which promotes recovery-focused policy advocacy activities, carries out recovery-focused community education and outreach programs, and provides peer-based recovery support services. (Kevin Weiss)

The project is being facilitated by Clearwater-based Recovery Epicenter Foundation, which has operated an RCO without borders since 2016.

Guidance and technical assistance on the program is coming from the Florida Alcohol & Drug Abuse Foundation (FADAA), through a three-year Aetna Foundation grant called All in for Florida: A Recovery Project; the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse (ASAP) is also providing support in the RCO development process.

Details about RCO programming were discussed during a Feb. 26 community listening session at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park in Land O’ Lakes.

While there’s no definitive timetable for the formation of an RCO in Pasco, it’s expected to take many months at least, officials said.

The community listening session brought together dozens of stakeholders, including persons in recovery and professionals in health care, criminal justice, faith-based organizations and others.

Attendees suggested an RCO in Pasco needs to, among other initiatives, find ways address the following:

  • More affordable housing opportunities
  • More homeless shelters and treatment facilities
  • More residential treatment beds
  • Better public transportation opportunities
  • Recovery-friendly employment and workforce training
  • Greater access to recovery at all levels of care
  • Decriminalization of substance use disorder
  • Additional 12-step recovery meetings
  • Greater access to peer support services

In many cases, RCOs shift the focus of recovery programming from clinically driven acute care to recovery management, speakers said.

A significant component of that is mobilizing recovery peer specialists — people who have been successful in the recovery process who help others battling addiction through shared experience, understanding, respect and mutual empowerment.

Such methodology helps reduce relapse rates over time, according to Ken Brown, a recovery-oriented system of care specialist for the Florida Department of Children and Families Suncoast Region, who spoke at the community listening session.

Brown said RCOs and related support services provide “a key element for communities to help people in recovery.”

He emphasized the need for more placement on long-term recovery management, as opposed to routine substance abuse treatment.

Brown put it like this: “So many times, our system falls short because we address the acute care needs that go into treatment for 30 days or whatever and then they get out — and that’s not how (recovery) happens.

“We have to shift our thought process from acute care to recovery management, ‘What are the hopes and dreams of those going through recovery? What can we do to advance their recovery? And, most importantly, what can we do to keep you in recovery?’”

The listening session also featured FADAA recovery project director Ginny LaRue, who is developing RCOs in nine Florida counties, including Pasco.

In other counties, LaRue explained, RCOs have primarily focused facilitating programs that offer employment assistance, transportation, health and wellness, and recreational opportunities, independent support groups and so on.

While FADAA assists in forming RCOs, LaRue said the onus is on the local community “to make it sustainable, through partnerships (and) through collaboration.”

She added RCOs are successful because they’re grassroots, community-driven efforts that get “more of the voice of recovery.”

LaRue added: “This is not clinical. This is lived experience helping lived experience. It’s a matter of all these people in the community saying, ‘This is what we’re going to do. This is how we’re going to do it.’”

LaRue herself is a former addict who’s been in recovery for the last 15 years.

In addition to her work with FADAA, she also operates a sober-living house in Daytona Beach.

She, like others at the meeting, underscored the importance of wide-ranging, accessible long-term recovery services.

For her, “things didn’t get better” immediately stepping out of drug treatment, LaRue said.

Instead, she said she needed years of peer mentoring and recovery support services to become “a responsible member of my community.”

“You cannot live on an island and try to recover,” LaRue said. “I needed the community to wrap their arms around me and help me through that process, and restore me.”

The next step in the RCO formation process is scheduling a recovery symposium.

That will be followed by a series of recovery community visioning meetings to determine action steps and program implementation.

A symposium planning session is scheduled for March 20 at 11 a.m., at Trinity Church of Christ, 4234 St. Lawrence Drive in New Port Richey.

The meeting is open to the public.

Published March 13, 2019

Seminar spotlights Pasco’s opioid epidemic, solutions

By

When it comes to tackling the opioid crisis in Pasco County, the community needs all hands on deck.

That’s according to Monica Rousseau, coordinator for the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP).

Rousseau was one of ASAP’s group of speakers for an opioid crisis seminar at the Pasco-Hernando State College Porter Campus at Wiregrass Ranch in Wesley Chapel. The Sept. 18 event was part of the state college’s ongoing Community Awareness Series, open to the public, students, faculty and staff.

Monica Rousseau is coordinator for the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP). She discussed the scope of the opioid crisis in Pasco County and some solutions for tackling the issue. (Kevin Weiss)

Rousseau, who’s worked for ASAP since 2014, underscored the scope of substance abuse locally.

Among Florida’s 67 counties, Pasco currently ranks fifth in the rate of substance abuse related overdose deaths, averaging 25 deaths per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control Wonder Data and County Health Rankings provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

In 2017, the county ranked fourth in the state, but averaged fewer deaths, about 22 per 100,000.

Manatee County ranks first in the state in 2018, with 38 deaths per 100,000.

The figures, Rousseau explained, indicate other counties are getting worse in the fight against opioids, while Pasco remains about the same.

“We’re not getting better. We’re just kind of starting to press pause in Pasco County, whereas other counties are seeing a lot more deaths,” Rousseau said.

Multiple solutions needed
Rousseau attributes Pasco’s high ranking, in part, to its ‘pill mill’ epidemic from the early part of the decade.

“We’ve cut down on all the pill mills, but people with addiction are still dealing with it,” Rousseau said. “They cycle through treatment. It takes a few times for it to stick, but we just have a population that still is healing from that.”

In reducing substance abuse, Rousseau suggested the county needs to take a more comprehensive approach, focusing on the supply, demand and treatment sides of the issue, and “looking at this from a community perspective.”

Getting to the root cause of substance abuse is another task — understanding that addiction oftentimes is “an evolving disease of despair” driven by emotional suffering, as well as physical suffering, Rousseau said.

Helping those people get counseling may be one solution to fight the crisis, she said.

“We talk about the pain aspect until we’re blue in the face,” she said. What’s needed are conversations about how that person has post-traumatic stress disorder, or severe childhood trauma, or lost his job or his wife just left, Rousseau said.

Another speaker, New Port Richey’s Rachel Starostin, shared her personal story about battling opioid addiction.

She said she became a drug addict after she was in a car accident on U.S. 19 caused by a drunk driver.

A trauma nurse for Bayfront, Starostin was forced to give up her career because of ongoing physical problems related to the crash.

Aside from physical injuries, Starostin, too, had pent up emotional scars.

Her mother died when she was 16. Her father, a drug addict, was absent throughout her life.

Years later, Starostin came home to find her husband, who had died by suicide.

“I felt really bad on the inside. Everybody in my life that I really loved was gone,” she said.

Starsotin previously used work as a coping mechanism, but once her livelihood was taken away, she began using pain medication to fill the void.

Dependency affects all kinds of people
It began innocently. She took opiates before physical therapy sessions to manage legitimate feelings of pain and discomfort.

Over time, though, she progressively took more and more.

The medications removed her inhibitions.

“The reaction I had from it was not normal. All those bad feelings of, ‘I’m worthless. My life is over,’ they all went away,” she said.

Starostin said she was “completely controlled by opiates”— for more than 10 years.

While in jail, facing 25 years for drug trafficking, Starostin entered a 12-step recovery program.

She’s been clean for almost three years.

“I was just determined that I didn’t want to die,” she said, noting she came close to death several times.

“It was time to do something different. Nothing changes if nothing changes, and that hit me and I was like, ‘Ok, I need to change.’”

Today, Starostin is a member of ASAP’s recovery committee, which provides support for people affected by substance use disorders.

She uses her story to motivate others and to help them find their purpose in life.

Her advice to addicts: “No matter how many times you fall, you keep getting back up. It took me 20 times. I went through detox and stuff like that. No matter how far down the scale you’ve gone, you really can do it. You just have to keep it at.”

Starostin and Rousseau agreed there needs to be continual awareness regarding the negative stigma and negative perceptions associated with substance abuse and addiction.

“One of the No.1 reasons people don’t seek treatment is because of the stigma,” Rousseau said. “People don’t feel comfortable talking about their opioid issues or their drug issues, so they don’t know where to go.”

ASAP speakers also said more opportunities are needed to assist people in recovery to reintegrate back into society. There needs to be greater access to jobs, housing, health care and so on, they said.

They also pointed out that it can be especially difficult for those that have a criminal record for drug-related offenses, even after they’ve become clean.

ASAP recovery committee co-chair Kellie Walker, who also spoke during the seminar, put it this way: “There’s lot of things people in recovery need other than just getting sober and taking the substance away.

“What happens when somebody gets sober and they can’t find a job? They’re going to likely go back to some of those behaviors,” Walker said.

Published September 26, 2018

Pasco Schools seeks to address students’ mental health needs

By

Pasco County Schools is searching for additional ways to better serve its students’ mental health needs.

As part of that effort, the school system brought together student services staff and community mental health providers on May 4 for the district’s first-ever Mental Health Symposium. The seminar’s aim was to raise awareness of students’ mental health, build capacity of staff to respond, and increase collaboration between schools and mental health providers.

The daylong event featured a panel discussion on mental health, plus a series of breakout sessions, which covered such topics as eating disorders, anxiety, school-based violence prevention, trauma reduction and supporting recovery, non-suicidal self-injury, connecting mental health services, and so on.

Pasco County Schools’ first annual Mental Health Symposium featured a panel discussion and breakout sessions concerning eating disorders, anxiety, school-based violence prevention, trauma reduction and supporting recovery, non-suicidal self-injury, and connecting mental health services. (Kevin Weiss)

About 280 student services staff — school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, school nurses and dropout prevention teachers — participated in a morning or afternoon session, said Dave Chamberlin, Pasco Schools student services supervisor.

Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning kicked off the event with a brief introduction, during which he underscored the necessity of the district to provide quality education and to meet students’ mental health needs.

“We have got to be singularly focused on meeting those social and emotional needs of our kids,” Browning said, “before they can even learn to do mathematics or science.”

The symposium, which coincided with Mental Health Awareness Month, was at the district’s offices. Planning for it began in September.

In the aftermath of the Valentine’s Day school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland that left 17 dead, Browning noted there’s been a renewed emphasis on mental health, and student and staff well-being.

Offering one possible solution of his own, Browning stated he’s a “huge proponent” of trauma-informed care, an organizational structure and treatment framework that involves understanding, recognizing and responding to the effects of all types of trauma.

“We’ve got to get out and educate our teachers — training our teachers and school-based staff about trauma informed care,” the superintendent said.

That suggestion, among many others, was presented during the hour-long panel discussion featuring community mental health providers, a student, and a parent with experience interacting with the system of care.

Access, awareness and availability of mental health services seem to be ongoing barriers, panelists suggested.

Helping younger children
There’s a great need for more pediatric psychiatrists and pediatric bed space in the county, said Craig Leech, program manager for the Land O’ Lakes-based Morton Plant North Bay Hospital Recovery Center.

Leech explained the recovery facility is only able to utilize 20 of its 25 pediatric beds at a time, and there’s oftentimes a waiting list of several days for children to get the mental services and treatment. “At any given day, we are full and do not have bed space. We are the only pediatric receiving facility in Pasco County,” he said.

Another panelist, Doug Leonardo, senior vice president of Chrysalis Health, said more flexibility is needed in providing mental health services for children.

He advocates conducting school behavioral health screenings to flag potential mental health problems with students at a younger age.

“We need to do a better job at getting upstream of these issues. We have universal screenings in schools for hearing and speech…I don’t know why we would not want to do the same things for mental health issues,” he said.

Leonardo, who’s helped provide mental health and substance abuse in Pasco County and other areas for more than 20 years, also supports creating more community partnerships among schools, law enforcement and mental health professionals.

He emphasized the importance of encouraging parents to be unafraid to seek help for their children who may suffer from mental illness.

“We can treat the kids but, if we don’t have the parents engaged and bought in and helped, it doesn’t really work, so we really need that family system to be involved,” the health professional said.

While health experts described some of community resources available to youth, many students are unaware of what’s available to them, Anclote High senior Emily Leopardi said.

Leopardi overcame a broken home and dysfunctional family life, and is on track to graduate high school and attend Hillsborough Community College in the fall. Growing up, she was fortunate to receive counseling and assistance from Youth and Family Alternatives Inc., and Baycare Behavioral Health.

“I would like to see more support in the schools that focus on mental health, and resources for students like myself who’s family life is challenging. …Without the help of these providers, students like myself can fall through the cracks,” she said.

Other panelists, including moderator Monica Rousseau, said reducing the stigma associated to mental health problems must remain a focus.

Rousseau, coordinator for the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), referenced a study that more Americans are starting to understand mental illness is very much a chronic illness, like any other physical illness; yet more and more people are associating mental illness with violent tendencies, she said.

“We have shootings, we have a lot of big news stories that are really skewing the way people view people with mental illness, so it’s really important to be stomping out that stigma,” Rousseau said.

Some issues related to children’s mental health services might soon be mitigated with the recent passing of Senate Bill 7026 (“Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act”).

Besides its various school safety mandates, the new law creates mental health assistance allocation for every school district in Florida.

It also requires school districts to deliver a plan focused on delivering evidence-based mental health treatment, assessment, diagnose, intervention services and so on.

For school districts like Pasco, it marks a “big sea change,” Leonardo said.

“We’re going to start asking school districts to do things that I think, historically, they haven’t focused on doing. It probably happens sporadically, but now it’s being mandated,” Leonardo said.

With a solid foundation and framework, and an influx of funds from the new law, Leonardo noted the district and county as a whole is “in a really good position to make some meaningful changes.”

Published May 9, 2018

Seeking answers in the opioid battle

By

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis wants all voices to be heard in the quest to combat the nation’s opioid crisis.

The congressman met with the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) on March 27 to discuss the issue and listen to reactions to proposed federal legislation related to the opioid crisis.

The public meeting, held at the community center at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, attracted dozens of people who are interested in the issue.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis recently met with the Pasco County Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), to discuss and solicit feedback on federal bills related to the opioid crisis. The House Health Subcommittee has heard 26 bills as a starting point related to opioid legislation that will be rolled into one large bill to be passed out of the House by the end of May. (File)

It piggybacked off a similar ASAP meeting in August, where Bilirakis provided an update on federal efforts to combat opioid abuse.

So far, the House Health Subcommittee has heard 26 bills as a starting point related to opioid legislation that will be rolled into one large bill to be passed out of the House by the end of May.

The bipartisan bill, CARA 2.0 Act, builds on the original Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act by providing $4 billion in additional resources for opioid prevention and treatment.

The funding was earmarked as part of President Donald Trump’s $1.3 trillion long-term spending bill, which passed March 23.

Throughout the 90-minute session, ASAP members shared personal stories and presented ideas to help solve the opioid crisis.

Opioid overdoses accounted for more than 42,000 deaths in 2016, more than any previous year on record, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. An estimated 40 percent of those deaths involved a prescription opioid, the agency says.

Members of ASAP, including Beth Piecora, advocated for additional peer support specialist programs. In this type of program, people who have significant personal experience with struggles pertaining to mental health, psychological trauma or substance abuse provide support to people who are currently struggling with those types of issues.

Piecora, a representative for Central Florida Behavioral Health Network, said federal dollars are needed to train and employ an increased number of those peer specialists.

Peers often can be instrumental in leading someone to pursue treatment, Piecora said.

She also suggested background check screenings be eased when hiring such specialists. “Some folks that have that lived experience sometimes have those certain things on their record,” she explained.

Others mentioned Narcan — a life-saving emergency opioid treatment — should become more readily available for addicts and their families.

The medication is the first and only FDA-approved nasal form of naloxone, which helps blocks the effects of opioids on the brain and restores breathing.

Besides enhancing distribution efforts, ASAP members said Narcan should be subsidized for consumers, particularly those uninsured. Without a prescription, the medication can cost more than $130.

One speaker even suggested requiring doctors to provide Narcan as part of prescribed pain medications.

While grant programs are available to receive free Narcan through nonprofits, barriers still remain in getting quick, easy access, ASAP coordinator Monica Rousseau said.

“You can access Narcan for free, but it usually involves a lot of paperwork…and it’s kind of obscure. It’s also very difficult to get it in a moment when you have people struggling,” she said.

Crisis needs to be attacked on many fronts
Meanwhile, Pasco Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Art Rowand inquired about creating a policy to allow law enforcement to place addicts into treatment, without arrests.

The law enforcement officer said such a measure could help eliminate the cycle of drug abuse, and cut down on overdoses and deaths.

“Basically, the only thing we have to take care of the situation…is to arrest them,” Rowand said.

Some ASAP members stressed that Bilirakis and other policymakers continue to address comprehensive addiction issues, including alcoholism.

“Opioid is now the new kind of thing, and everybody’s aware of it, but I don’t want to leave out treatment for alcoholism,” said Dena Lynch, who spoke on behalf of Alcoholics Anonymous.

“It goes hand in hand, and there’s a lot of people using drugs that also drink, so I think you can’t disregard that as far as treatments. A lot of people in all walks of life have alcohol problems, and it’s really easy to focus on opioids.”

Other suggestions included:

  • Additional measures to help juveniles with addiction treatment
  • More impactful opioid and drug education in schools for younger-aged children
  • New educational opportunities for parents of drug addicts
  • Additional ‘sober living’ houses that also are affordable
  • An increased number of child and adolescent psychiatrists
  • Improved access for psychological services and treatment for the LGBTQ community
  • Mandatory needle exchanges
  • Additional faith community nursing programs

Bilirakis said he wants to schedule a discussion next month with a handful of stakeholders, to continue to brainstorm about possible legislation related to fighting addiction.

Addressing the audience, the congressman said, “We can get your voice heard up there and really get these things into law, but we’ve got to find out what works.”

He continued: “You can throw all the money in the world at something, but if you don’t do it right and it’s not effective, then it doesn’t do anybody any good.”

Published April 11, 2018

Rally sheds light on risks of impaired driving

By

For one drunk driver, it took going blind to finally see.

That’s the message Derrick Jenkins shared during A Rally to Prevent Impaired Driving, on Dec. 5 at John Long Middle School in Wesley Chapel.

Three years ago, Jenkins was just a “normal kid.”

But, the St. Petersburg resident’s life changed forever on Nov. 5, 2013.

Derrick Jenkins was the guest speaker during A Rally to Prevent Impaired Driving on Dec. 5. Jenkins lost his eyesight three years ago after an impaired driving accident.
(Kevin Weiss/Staff Photo)

Jenkins, then 21, attended a local car show with a few buddies. His intention was to get drunk. He did.

“Being 21, I was thinking, ‘Sweet, we can get trashed legally.’ That was my mindset at the time,” Jenkins said, addressing a group of parents and their children.

That November evening, an intoxicated Jenkins chose to ride his motorcycle home. He wasn’t wearing a helmet.

He did not make it far.

He trekked about a “a block down the road” before he and his motorcycle collided full-force into a stationary construction truck on U.S. 19.

The fallout was catastrophic.

“I hit the truck so hard my eyes literally popped out of my head,” Jenkins said, “My eyes were literally hanging on my cheeks.”

Jenkins, now completely blind with no eyes, had suffered a severe traumatic brain injury from the crash.

As a result, he now suffers from diabetes insipidus. It is a rare disorder that causes an imbalance of water in the body and is marked by intense thirst and heavy urination.

He is also unable to regulate his body temperature, and is stricken with short-term memory loss because of dead spots scattered across his brain.

“They all affect me on a daily, hourly basis,” he said of his existing medical problems.

The incident was a long time coming, Jenkins said, considering his proclivity to excessively drink at house parties since he was in high school.

“I’m surprised it didn’t happen to me sooner,” he said, candidly. “I let what other kids think of me affect my decisions.”

For Jenkins, the dangers of driving impaired serve as a constant reminder.

“It only takes once,” he said.

December is National Impaired Driving Awareness Month.

To spread the message, several organizations — the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP), and Safe Teens AgaiNst Drugs (STAND) — teamed up for a panel discussion on issues related to drug and alcohol abuse, especially involving youths.

Much of the 30-minute dialogue centered on causes and impacts of underage drinking and drug abuse.

Shawn Crane, a Pasco Circuit Court Judge, said curbing youth substance abuse starts with choosing the right friends.

“The people you surround yourself with are absolutely critical to remaining drug free and alcohol free,” Crane said, during the roundtable. “If you want to fit in with that group that goes to the house parties, that is going to be the root that brings you down.”

Alexis Escalante, a MADD program specialist, said children with self-esteem issues are more at-risk of being pressured into drug and alcohol use.

“Kids can fall into that trap when they have low self-esteem,” Escalante said, “and they are looking for acceptance…wherever they can.”

That’s why, Escalante said, parents need to talk to their children about substance abuse at an early age.

“We have found that kids start forming their own opinions about drugs and alcohol as early as 8 years old,” Escalante said, “so it’s up to the parent to determine whether or not they’re getting correct information.”

She added, “The earlier you start talking about it, the more manageable it’s going to be.”

Ariana Santillana, a freshman at Ridgewood High, agreed, noting youth are heavily influenced not only by their peers, but what’s presented in movies, music and television.

“Drug use and alcohol is being promoted everywhere,” Santillana said. “Youth are like sponges—they soak up all the information they get about drugs.

She added: “It seems like parents are scared to talk to their kids about alcohol and drugs, and the effects it can have on them.”

Those effects are multiple and long-term, panelists concurred.

Besides the risk of motor vehicle accidents, there’s a possibility of stunted brain function, said Christina Roberto, a master social worker at BayCare Behavioral Health.

“When you’re underage, your brain is still developing,” Roberto said. “It doesn’t stop until you’re 25 or 26 (years old), so when you add all these extra substances…it’s causing it to not fully develop.”

Incarceration is another possible outcome, even for those under 18.

Natalie Scruggs, an assistant state’s attorney for Florida’s Sixth Judicial Court, said juveniles can be charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) manslaughter, a second-degree felony equating to 15 years in prison.

“That stays on your record pretty much forever,” Scruggs said. “The consequences can be very, very horrible.”

Panelists also agreed that substance abuse—and impaired driving — could create significant financial hurdles, from legal fees and court costs, to exorbitant medical bills to skyrocketing insurance rates.

“The cost is really difficult to measure,” Crane said, “because it is so vast.”

Published December 14, 2016