Parents part of drug abuse prevention Elkin City Schools hosting The Bedroom Project for parents, community to highlight signs of drug abuse in a teen’s bedroom

Parents of teens, or future teens, take note, the signs of risky behavior now are not what they were many years ago, but there is an event coming up that will help parents know what to look for — Drugs Uncovered is part of The Bedroom Project.

Each of Surry County’s school systems will be sharing the workshop for parents of students in grades fourth through 12th with the community, with Elkin High School hosting the first one Tuesday beginning in the cafeteria with a free dinner at 5:30 p.m. The presentation for parents begins at 6:15 p.m., and child care is available for those who need to bring their children. Also invited are educators, counselors and government and community professionals.

The program is brought by The Poe Health Center in Raleigh, explained Karen Eberdt, school educator for the Surry County Health and Nutrition Center, and is part of the county’s ongoing efforts to bring awareness to and prevention of drug abuse among young people in the community.

“The decisions our adolescents have to make now are more difficult than any group before them and under more pressure than any generation before them,” said Eberdt.

Past projects for drug awareness and prevention have focused on the youngest of the community’s children, and last year the middle and high school students were added to those getting drug abuse prevention education. “This year, the real important piece would be having the whole family unit be involved,” she said. “This is a wonderful opportunity to put another tool in the parents’ toolbox in raising adolescents in this very, very, very difficult time.”

The program will bring parents together in the Dixon Auditorium where they will walk through an interactive 25x25-foot simulated teen’s bedroom. While in the room, parents will look for signals of high risk behaviors which the teen might be involved in, and then the parents will go back to their seats, and represents with Poe Health Center will go over all the items in the bedroom to bring awareness to what parents should look for, said Eberdt.

“When I was growing up, the things that would have signified risky behavior are very different than they are now … welcome to risky behavior 2017. It is a better opportunity for parents to open up dialogue with their children,” she said.

Eberdt praised the work of all three school systems in allowing the program to be presented in their schools, with Surry County hosting it May 22 at Pilot Mountain Middle School and Mount Airy hosting it May 23 at Mount Airy High School. “Each of them are doing their own little twist to personalize it for their families,” she explained, “but the whole county has stepped up.”

In Elkin, school officials have coordinated with 13 local contributors to provide a meal for those attending as a way of increasing the possible participation.

The workshop and exhibit will highlight ways for parents to talk to their children about drugs, alcohol and tobacco; teach about drug trends; identify signs of substance abuse; identify ways teens are using common and unique items to conceal and use drugs, alcohol and tobacco; and provide free materials to participants to use as resources on raising drug- and alcohol-free teens.

“I just can’t say it enough, the applause to our health department, school systems and businesses working together to bring families across our county to have this additional tool for parents,” Eberdt said.

To reserve a spot at the Elkin Bedroom Project event, register online at http://bit.ly/2lXzonc by 5 p.m. Friday.

Wendy Byerly Wood may be reached at 336-258-4035 or on Twitter @wendywoodeditor.