Township directory helps parents protect their kids

A larger effort is being made countywide to reduce dangers for youth.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
SOUTHINGTON -- Before some residents of rural Southington Township allow their children to attend a party at a home here, they have a phone call to make.
That call is to the home of the party's host -- the number comes courtesy of a newly created directory available to parents who want to keep their kids safe from such dangers as alcohol and violence.
The directory gives the names of parents who have signed up to promise that they will not make unsafe things available at any parties being held in their homes.
"The parent can call up and ask who's supervising the party," said Mel Milliron, a Southington parent of two who is part of a new group called Southington "Those Who Care." The group started in the spring thanks to a grant secured through the Family and Children First Council of Trumbull County.
The program is part of a larger effort being made throughout the county to involve all segments of the community -- from businesses to police and fire departments, to schools, churches and parent groups -- to reduce the dangers for youth.
Community effort
In agreeing to be listed in the directory, the parent agrees to keep children safe from alcohol, drugs, firearms, tobacco and violent video games and videos, Milliron said.
He said the directory is also open to people who don't have children but who sometimes entertain children in their homes, such as coaches.
Milliron said the directory and the community's education efforts are working to change the some parents' perception that allowing underage drinking or drug use in their homes is OK.
He said he has heard parents say they would rather have their children drinking "in their home where they can supervise it, rather than out there" where they can't. Parents who take this attitude are violating the law.
Such parents can be sentenced to jail even if they are not at home while the party is going on, he said.
Another way this message is being driven home is through stickers that say, "Parents Who Host Lose the Most."
Southington "Those Who Care" is also promoting its alcohol-free message at high school basketball and football games with wall banners and brochures. Presentations have also been given at academic and athletic banquets, Milliron said.
Being proactive
"The absolute best method of prevention is for parents to be involved in their children's lives," a sign-up sheet for the Southington directory says, noting that it does not consider the township to have a significant problem with alcohol -- but it's better to be proactive.
Kathy Marando, director of prevention and community services for Community Solutions, a Warren-based nonprofit group that provides personnel to teach the alcohol and violence programs in the schools, said a federal grant that was recently approved will combat one of the bigger obstacles to stopping alcohol abuse: a feeling of powerlessness.
"In general, we've adopted an attitude that kids are going to do it anyway, and there's nothing we can do about it," Marando said, adding that she thinks some parents have had the right attitude but haven't had the opportunity to work together.
When they do work together, "That's where you can have an impact," she said.
Margie Alexander, coordinator of Family & amp; Children First, said Southington is one of three communities benefiting from grant money from the Raymond John Wean Foundation. Southington chose to use the funding for alcohol and drug prevention.
Violence prevention
The Bloomfield-Mespo school system received Family & amp; Children First funding last year and is continuing with its anti-bullying and anti-violence program this year, thanks to the Wean Foundation funding, Alexander said.
Carey Anderson-Keller, coordinator of the Trumbull County Alcohol and Drug-Free Coalition, is part of the school education team working in Southington and Bloomfield-Mespo. She said the emphasis at Bloomfield-Mespo has been use of the "Second Step" anti-violence curriculum in grades 3-5.
That curriculum is focused on teaching empathy skills, anger management, impulse control and other items, such as conflict resolution. With this year's grant funding, Bloomfield-Mespo will be able to extend that to kindergarten through fifth grade, making it one of the few districts in the county providing such programming throughout the primary grades, Anderson-Keller said.
Newton Falls schools are using a violence prevention curriculum for the first time this year in grades 3-6. Marilyn Liber, middle school principal, viewed the program to be an extension of an existing "total wellness" program already in place in the health classes.
New federal grant
Anderson-Keller said statistics show Trumbull County youth have plenty of experience with drugs and alcohol. The statistics helped establish the need for the programs.
The Alcohol and Drug-Free Coalition secured $100,000 per year for the next five years from a federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services grant, which will allow area agencies to provide additional schools in the county with school and community programs like the ones in Southington, Bloomfield-Mespo and Newton Falls.
Marando said the SAMHSA grant, approved in September, will allow more schools to organize the type of community program in place in Southington, but she cautions that only about 20 percent of the funding will go to providing additional schools with in-school curriculum.
She said some of the larger and more urban school systems have received more funding for drug and alcohol prevention in recent years and, consequently have better programs than the more rural districts.
If a school system is interested in getting involved in a community-based program, Marando suggests they contact her at (330) 394-9090.
runyan@vindy.com