Youth Summit to Provide Forum for Teens

The following was submitted by MarbleheadCares:

The Marblehead CARES coalition will be gathering input from the community through a series of focus groups, which will include a Youth Summit scheduled for Monday, March 7,  from 6:30-8:00pm at theLynch/van Otterloo Y.

The Youth Summit is designed to gather 80-90 students in grades 7-12 who will meet in separate middle school and high school groups. The summit participants will be asked to share their perspective on what it’s like to grow up in Marblehead and what pressures and influences impact youth of their age to make decisions about early alcohol and other substance use.

The goal of the summit is for coalition members to better understand what youth experience and encourage youth to help guide the coalition’s outreach. Trained facilitators will lead the Youth Summit discussion groups and all information gathered will remain confidential.

“We see the Youth Summit event as a key opportunity to open an on-going dialog with youth and empower them to share their voices. We currently have four Marblehead High School students who participate as coalition members and attend our monthly meetings and we look forward to expandingthis group,” shares Youth Summit Coordinator Loren Weston. This spring, the youth committee will launch its first youth concert as part of an ongoing series of youth focused events.

The coalition hopes to gather a diverse cross section of the Marblehead youth population including students who attend either public or independent schools. Event organizers report that Marblehead youth are showing great support for the event with 45 teens already registered to attend. The coalition will continue to register participants through Friday, March 4, and encourages interested students to contact Youth Summit Coordinator, Loren Weston at lorwest@comcast.net to register.

About MarbleheadCARES:

MarbleheadCARES is a new community-wide coalition that has formed to provide educational outreach to reduce youth substance abuse. The coalition, which initially formed in 2009 through the Marblehead Counseling Center in response to several youth substance-use related incidents, is taking a proactive approach to support the health and well being of Marblehead youth. Over the last year the coalition has worked to build representation from key community stakeholders including youth, parents, the Marblehead public and independent schools, Marblehead Police and Fire Departments, Marblehead Health Department, Parks & Recreation Department, Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA, Marblehead Ministerial Association, Cataldo and Atlantic Ambulance and local physicians.To learn more about MarbleheadCARES or to volunteer please contact Coalition Coordinator, Susan Hauck, at shauck.marbleheadcares@gmail.com or 617-680-6762.