By Scarlet Thalman
Teen substance abuse has been a focus of many initiatives in Berrien County following a growing metric of early addiction. This is particularly concerning to many health officials due to the effects substance abuse can have on youth academics, mental health, physical health, and overall development.
According to Berrien County Deputy Kelly Laesch, Crime Prevention Coordinator and Community Advocate, “teens are in a terrible time.” She emphasized that substance abuse prevention remains an urgent challenge facing the community.
There have been new developments in the issue of substance abuse overall, most notably the increase in funding and new initiatives toward addiction following the national opioid settlement. However, according to Laesch, few to no new actions are emerging toward countering the teen issue specifically.
Two notable organizations within Berrien County particularly focused on combating teen addiction include the Berrien County Health Department and Voice Change Hope.
The Berrien County Health Department, with a mission to promote public health, has partnered with schools, law enforcement, mental health authorities, and other organizations. They established community resources like free Narcan training events and other campaigns focused on prescription drug misuse prevention, underage vaping/tobacco prevention, underage drinking prevention, and underage marijuana use prevention.
Along with educational programs, the Health Department also worked with school districts to establish drug education into the curricula.
The Voice Change Hope Alliance, with a mission to eliminate substance use disorder and addiction from Southwest Michigan, has also made notable efforts against teen addiction. They put on multiple addiction prevention presentations aimed at the student body, administration, and parents — along with related programs, like Parent Night, where the organization offered education about how youth can hide addiction.
The organization worked both to destigmatize the issue of addiction and teach how to communicate effectively with youth who are struggling.
Despite the teen issue remaining prevalent, many of the initiatives for teen addiction are siloed and numerous recovery programs are only accessible to those over 18.
A lack of interest has also been demonstrated within the teen addiction prevention programs in place. Many of the presentations put on by Voice Change Hope have had limited participation, and social media posts related to addiction on the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department accounts have seen limited engagement compared to other posts.
In terms of addiction prevention and education, there is still work to be done in the fight against this issue within the county.
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