Steered Straight - Tahoma Hosted Event to Combat Fentanyl Usage in District
Dangerous drug usage among our youth is rising to unprecedented levels. As kids face unfounded mental health challenges due to the stress caused by COVID-19, resulting lockdowns, constant connection via social media, and more, many have turned to drug usage as an escape. Unfortunately, the drugs on the black market today are often laced with deadly fentanyl leading to overdoses, sometimes even at school. To make things worse, both the district and law enforcement face seemingly endless restrictions when it comes to combating these issues due to growing WA State regulations.
Parents, Tahoma School District (TSD) staff, and TSD School Board Directors in the community have been meeting to fight back and strategize ways to combat the issue. During these discussions, parents with children who have been impacted mentioned the sad reality that both the district and law enforcement often know who is responsible for bringing these drugs in, but now lack the authority to do much to stop it. One parent from the Kent School District even mentioned that they had to pull their kid from school as they couldn’t rely on the district to keep their child from partaking in these drugs.
Thankfully, not all is lost. Parents involved in these meetings have reported great success with the Steered Straight program and the TSD is taking those success stories seriously.
The Tahoma High School’s Student Advocates for Mental Health and Addiction (SAMHA) Club, in partnership with the Steered Straight Organization, is hosting a free seminar to “Raise Awareness Against Substance Abuse” on March 22nd from 5-6 PM in the Main Gym at Tahoma High School. According to Steered Straight’s website:
The ONLY way to END ADDICTION is to Prevent it from Happening in the First Place. The ONLY way to do that is to prevent KIDS from “starting” in their teen years. 90% of every person that has struggled with addiction in their lives began as a TEEN – age 7 to 17. This is indisputable. The adolescent brain is developing. The brain doesn’t fully develop until late 20’s. This is also indisputable.
Michael DeLeon, the organization’s founder and a “successfully acclimated ex-offender” will be hosting this highly lauded and powerful presentation.
The Valley Vox discusses Tahoma’s drug issues with Michelle Heyford and Steered Straight founder Michael DeLeon.
We are living in a time when parents must do everything in their power to educate themselves and their children to prevent them from going down the dark and destructive path of substance abuse. We unfortunately cannot rely on the school or law enforcement to keep them safe from this sinister destroyer of lives alone. We highly recommend that ALL parents in the district attend this event.
Tahoma Parents thanks the TSD, SAMHA, and Steered Straight for coming up with alternative solutions to help fight youth drug usage in our community. It is our hope that this effort is continuous and that the community continues to come together to find ways to strengthen our children’s defenses against substance abuse.
