Mother-daughter pair talks to Youngstown summer campers about dangers of drugs

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

At 13 months old, Skyann Cvetkovich was placed in foster care after her mother was arrested on drug-related charges.

She was able to return home at age 5 after her mother got clean.

When she participated in a Youth Police Academy program in grade school, police officer Delphine Baldwin-Casey had no idea that Skyann – whom she describes as a star pupil – had gone through that life-changing event.

Now, at age 17, Skyann returned to the police academy Tuesday to share her story. She was joined by her mom, Tina. The two shared their family’s experience with drug addiction with about a dozen children between the ages of 8 and 13 who are in Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church’s KINGS summer day camp.

For five weeks of the camp, Baldwin-Casey, a retired Youngstown police officer who recently joined the Campbell police department, led weekly, one-hour classes. With the opioid epidemic affecting many families in the Mahoning Valley, Baldwin-Casey thought it would be a good idea to focus on drugs. She started with marijuana, then ended with heroin.

“With this epidemic, if one person walks out of here and it [drug abuse] doesn’t happen, you’ve done something,” she said.

Substance-abuse issues run deep for Tina and Skyann’s family.

“I am the fifth generation of my immediate family to have addiction problems,” Tina told the group.

Children of people with substance-abuse problems are at a higher risk of developing issues themselves, which is what happened to Tina. She recalled smoking marijuana for the first time at 9 and getting drunk at 13.

“When I was a child, I had the belief that I was not good enough for anybody,” she said, explaining that she thought drugs and alcohol would help her make friends.

“They didn’t. They took me away from everybody and everything,” she said.

Childhood dysfunction evolved into even more serious issues in adulthood. The mother of three became addicted to heroin. She recalled being neglectful of her children and not being immediately upset when they were taken away from her. In her addicted state, it just meant she had even fewer barriers to her lifestyle.

Eventually, however, Cvetkovich hit a point where she knew she needed to get clean. She’s been sober since April 17, 2004. She is active in a 12-step recovery fellowship group and has made sure her children are knowledgeable about substance abuse. Skyann is actively involved in anti-drug efforts and has vowed not to go near drugs or alcohol.

“Skyann is trying to break that cycle,” said Tina. “Our addiction problems could possibly stop with me.”

To the kids who might be going through a situation similar to what she went through, Skyann urged them to avoid drugs if someone close to them says to try it. She has been offered drugs several times, but has resisted.

“Just say no,” she said.