As prom and graduation season arrive, state officials come to Riverhead to launch ‘Talk2Prevent’ statewide campaign

State officials came to Riverhead today to kick off a statewide campaign urging parents and other adults to talk to teens about drinking and drugs.

Talk2Prevent is the prom and graduation season campaign by the State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to help give parents resources for having these very important conversations with their teenagers.

OASAS Commissioner Arlene González-Sánchez spoke to the Class of 2016 this afternoon at Riverhead High School.

“We work very hard every day to prevent substance use, to treat New Yorkers who suffer from this terrible disease of addiction and to offer support to those who are on the path to recovery or are in recovery,” González-Sánchez told the students, who gathered in the cafeteria for the eighth-period program.

“It’s going to be a busy season, with prom and graduation. I know you’re looking forward to your next chapter in life. This is a very exciting time. You’ve worked hard and you deserve to celebrate,” González-Sánchez said. “But celebrations involving alcohol and drugs can turn a happy moment into tragedy in a flash.”

González-Sánchez shared some facts and statistics:

• teens who use alcohol before age 15 are six times more likely to become alcohol-dependent than adults who began drinking at or after age 21.
• more than 4,350 people under age 21 die each year from alcohol-related crashes, homicides, falls, drowning and other accidents.
• other health consequences include memory problems, disruption of growth, and risky sexual behavior.

“The good news is you have the ability right now not to be among these startling statistics,” González-Sánchez said. “You have the power to choose how you want to live your life. Avoid these things and you add years to your life,” she said.

“We know you can’t do it alone. It’s hard to make the right choices without advice and guidance, which is why we are calling on anyone and everyone who is involved in the lives of young folks to have this conversation with teens — and to have it over and over and over again.”

González-Sánchez said after the program that the state chose to launch the new campaign in Riverhead “because of the great work they’re doing here.”

“We’d like other school districts to look at what Riverhead is doing and do the same,” the commissioner said.

Rivehead High School seniors Stephanie Ambrosio and Samantha Dunn, who have both been involved in the Riverhead Community Awareness Program since they were in 8th grade, spoke to their classmates about their experiences in the CAP peer leadership program.

Stephanie and Samantha also offered advice to their fellow students that they said is more realistic than calling for complete abstinence: harm reduction to limit negative consequences of drinking:

• Make sure you’re always with trusted friends
• Don’t dirnk with strangers or in an unfamiliar environment
• Don’t leave your drink unattended and if you leave your drink don’t risk it — get a new one
• Don’t binge drink
• Have a designated driver or always have a safe ride home

The girls concluded with a poem called “Someone Should Have Taught Him”

I went to a party and remembered what you said.
You told me not to drink, Mom, so I had a Sprite instead.

I felt proud of myself, the way you said I would.
That I didn’t drink and drive, though some friends said I should.

I made a healthy choice, and your advice to me was right.
The party finally ended, and the kids drove out of sight.

I got into my car, sure to get home in one piece.
I never knew what was coming, Mom, something I expected least.

Now I’m lying on the pavement, and I hear the policeman say,
“The kid that caused the wreck was drunk.”
Mom, his voice seems far away.

My own blood’s all around me, as I try hard not to cry.
I can hear the paramedic say, this girl is going to die.

I’m sure the guy had no idea, while he was flying high.
Because he chose to drink and drive, now I would have to die.

So why do people do it, Mom, knowing that it ruins lives?
And now the pain is cutting me, like a hundred stabbing knives.

Tell sister not to be afraid, Mom.
Tell Daddy to be brave.
And when I go to heaven, put “Mommy’s girl” on my grave.

Someone should have taught him, that it’s wrong to drink and drive.
Maybe if his parents had, I’d still be alive.

Riverhead Town Councilman John Dunleavy, PBMC president Andrew Mitchell, Riverhead Schools Superintendent Nancy Carney and Riverhead Police Officer Dennis Cavanagh, joined CAP executive director Felicia Scocozza and Riverhead High School principal Dr. Charles Regan for today’s program.

Cavanagh, who was the keynote speaker at the 2014 CAP march — an annual march through downtown Riverhead — told the students that anytime they are with someone who’s been drinking, if they can’t prevent him or her from getting behind the wheel, they must never get in the car with them.

“If you can’t get a safe ride home, if you can’t reach your parents, call 911,” Cavanagh said. “We’ll get you home.”

The OASAS website has many resources for parents and teens alike. Visit Talk2Prevent  to learn more.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti