BARNSTABLE – An event aimed at keeping young people from making devastating choices with drugs and alcohol will encourage community participation this week.
The 3rd Annual Community Substance Abuse Prevention Forum will be held on Thursday, March 16th at 5:30 inside Cape Cod Community College’s (4Cs) Tilden Arts Center.
This year’s speaker, former NBA star and author of Basketball Junkie Chris Herren, will share his story regarding how addiction overcame his dreams of playing professional basketball for the Boston Celtics.
A separate event just for 7th graders the following day will allow students some one-on-one time with Herren.
Barnstable Director of Leisure Services Patti Machado said that the idea is to provide young people with a host of activities to keep them away from the reaches of drugs and alcohol.
She said that the public is welcome to attend the Thursday event, especially parents who believe their children may already be making poor decisions.
“Nobody is here to judge, we can’t judge each other, just work as a community,” she said. “It’s a battle worth fighting, we don’t want to lose any more of our young people, we’ve lost too many.”
Free daycare is available to parents of younger children.
Friday’s in-school events will also allow students in peer leadership programs to certify for teaching a class focusing on team-building.
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