December 16, 2021
LCAHY Presents During Beaufort County School District’s Virtual Parent Connection Program
Low Country Alliance for Healthy Youth (LCAHY) presented “What Parents Need to Know About Substance Abuse Trends’” during Beaufort County School District’s (BCSD) Virtual Parent Connection Program. Dr. Loretta Novince, a developmental/educational psychologist and Drug Free Communities Grant (DFC)/ LCAHY’s consultant, presented on the effects of substance use/abuse on the developing teen brain and risk factors. She stressed that substance use/abuse is a pediatric public health issue. Dr. Novince also shared LCAHY’s Public Health Awareness Campaign “Be Part of the Solution”, which encourages the community to send clear messages that the use of alcohol and other drugs are unsafe, unhealthy, and illegal. Laura Pirkey, LCAHY’s Project Director for the DFC grant and Youth Coalition Coordinator, focused on providing parents with prevention resources available via LCAHY’s website https://www.lcahealthyyouth.com/ . Online resources such as SAMHSA, NIDA, and HealthyChildren.org were highlighted. SAMHSA’s “Talk They Hear You Campaign”, which was launched by the coalition in 2014, was featured and is promoted by LCAHY. In addition, she provided an overview of LCAHY’s youth coalition, Teens for Healthy Youth, whose vision is to promote positive teen health. Laura Pumajero, bilingual liaison for BCSD, converted their powerpoint presentations into Spanish and translated the presentations in a Zoom breakout room for Spanish speaking parents. LCAHY plans to work with the BCSD to provide prevention information and resources to parents in English and Spanish.