Dallas County Resources for Parents
Information provided includes: Community Service and Volunteer work for Youth; Drug and Alcohol Abuse/Awareness programs and Challenges of Parenting Teens
Interesting Fact: Youth who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or engage in destructive behavior. (Search Institute, 1995)
Volunteer Center of North Texas-Dallas County
Promotes recruits & refers adult and youth volunteers in Dallas County. 2800 Live Oak Street
Dallas, Texas 75204 Phone: (214) 826-6767
Toll free: 1-866-797-VCNT (8268) vcnorthtexas@vcnt.org
For more information about VCNT'S Student Programs Department contact
Millicent Boykin
(214) 826-6767 ext. 256
mboykin@vcnt.org
The Challenges of Parenting Teens
Early intervention programs designed for young adolescents already using substances may help deter these youth from continuing to use to the point where treatment is needed. Parents may benefit from ongoing education that focuses on helping them talk with their children about the dangers of early alcohol and drug use and recognizing the signs of substance abuse.
Resources for Families with Teens:
Parents, professionals, and volunteers can access a variety of resources at www.parenting.umn.edu. Click on “Families with Teens”
Recommended Reading:
—Teen Talk: A Survival Guide for Parents. Single topic fact sheets cover “hot topics”: alcohol, parent-teen communication, drugs, peer pressure, and sex.
Additional links:
http://www.byparents-forparents.com
http://www.parentingteens.com
Drug and Alcohol Programs for Youth
Parents who are informed are parents who can best cope with the pressures and influences their children face when it comes to alcohol and drug use.
These are several resources for your children who may have had recent exposure to drugs and alcohol or currently use or abuse a substance.
http://www.drugabuse.gov./parent-teacher.html
http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDAHome.html
Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Mission: to improve our communities’ health, safety and productivity by reducing the incidence and impact of alcohol and drug abuse. Core Values in Action: PREVENTING problems with alcohol and other drugs before they occur, INTERVENING when they do, and PROMOTING RECOVERY for those who are ready addicted. Greater Dallas Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse 1349 Empire Central Drive Suite 800
Dallas TX 75247 (214) 522-8600
http://www.gdcada.org Rainbow Days, Inc.
Guided by Our Vision: Our decisions and actions are guided by our vision for "a drug-free and promising future for every child” Giving children hope for a promising future through life skills education in support groups, classroom presentations and drug-free alternative activities.
Curriculum-Based Support Group (CBSG®) Program developed by Rainbow Days'founder, Cathey Brown. The CBSG® Program is evidence-based and uses a support group and trained facilitator to teach children and youth a set of essential life skills: skills to help them learn how to cope with difficult family situations, resist peer pressure, set and achieve goals, and refuse alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. http://www.rdikids.org/cbsg.shtml
Phone: (214) 887-0726
8150 North Central Expressway, Suite 1600
Dallas, Texas 75206
www.rdikids.org
of Youth Volunteerism in American Society
•Phoenix House Feinberg Academy of Dallas
Phoenix House’s prevention and education services highlight the dangers of drug use, reinforce self-esteem, and educate youth and adults to make positive choices. Phoenix House adolescent programs give young people and their families the education necessary to avoid substance use/abuse and to take control of their lives. Programs are offered to students, faculty members, parents, and high-risk youth involved with the juvenile justice system. The innovation of best-in-class prevention, treatment, and recovery programs;
Phoenix House Feinberg Academy of Dallas
2345 Reagan Street
Dallas, TX 75219
(800) 378-4435
http://www.phoenixhouse.org/get-help/for-a-teen/
DALLAS CHALLENGE, INC.
Our mission is “to help youth stay in school, off drugs and alcohol, and out of the criminal justice system.”
7777 Forest Lane, Suite B-410
Dallas, TX 75230
(972) 566-4680
http://www.dallaschallenge.org
Dallas Challenge recognizes the severity of problems faced by today's youth and has worked since 1984 to help turn lives around one child and their family at a time. In collaboration with other organizations in the community, Dallas Challenge is able to provide immediate comprehensive and quality services to youth and families in need.
Program components include:
-
Drug and alcohol prevention, education, intervention and outpatient treatment
-
Assessment, screening and referral services
-
Anger management curriculum
-
Tutoring and homework assistance
-
Truancy education, intervention and case management
-
Family education and communication skills development
-
Group and individual counseling
-
Youth development programming
-
Community service activities
-
Specialized after-school, spring break and summer enrichment programs
-
Recreational activities, special events and celebrations
-Dallas Challenge, Inc. Resources Continued:
TRUANCY PROGRAMS
-
Truancy Enforcement Center
-
Truancy Orientation Law
OTHER PROGRAMS
-
Phoenix Challenge Program
-
Steps for Success
-
Conquering Conflict
Signs & Symptoms of Teen Drinking and Drug Use
How can you tell if your child is using drugs or alcohol? It is difficult because changes in mood or attitudes, unusual temper outbursts, changes in sleeping habits and changes in hobbies or other interests are common in teens. What should you look for?
Watch List for Parents:
-
Changes in friends
-
Negative changes in schoolwork, missing school, or declining grades
-
Increased secrecy about possessions or activities
-
Use of incense, room deodorant, or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors
-
Subtle changes in conversations with friends, e.g. more secretive, using “coded” language
-
Increase in borrowing money
-
Evidence of drug paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers, etc.
-
Evidence of use of inhalant products (such as hairspray, nail polish, correction fluid, common household products); Rags and paper bags are sometimes used as accessories
-
Bottles of eye drops, which may be used to mask bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils
What is drug paraphernalia?
The term "drug paraphernalia" refers to any equipment that is used to produce, conceal and consume illicit drugs. Common examples including but not limited to pipes, bongs, lighters, plastic baggies and rolling papers or as defined under 481.125. Texas Health and Safety Code.
“Experimentation,” even with marijuana, can also lead to addiction. Not everyone progresses from use to abuse to addiction, but it is a dangerous road and there is no way to know who will become addicted and who won’t.
More teens are in treatment with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined.
Kids are using marijuana at an earlier age. In the late 1960s fewer than half of those using marijuana for the first time were under 18. By 2001, about two-thirds (67 percent) of marijuana users were younger than 18.
Smoking marijuana leads to changes in the brain that are similar to those caused by cocaine, heroin, or alcohol.
As a parent, your actions do matter. When you suspect, or know, that your child has used drugs, take action to stop it as soon as you can. It may be the most important step you ever take.
1. TEDS, SAMHSA, October 2001
2. Grant, B.F., and Dawson, D.A. Age of onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM–IV alcohol abuse and dependence: Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey. Journal of Substance Abuse 9:103–110, 1997.
3. Trends in Initiation of Substance Use. Based on the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. SAMHSA, 2003.
4. Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, Revised, NIDA, November 1998
5. Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know, Revised, NIDA, November 1998
Share with your friends: |
