TALK WITH KIDS ABOUT SUBSTANCE USE; YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

By d-mars.com News Provider

Did you know that the younger someone is when they start drinking alcohol or using other drugs, the more likely they are to develop a substance use disorder as an adult? And with more than 140,000 people dying from excessive alcohol use in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it’s crucial for all the important people in young people’s lives - parents and caregivers, educators, and community members - to talk with them regularly about the harms of alcohol and other drug use and to look for signs that may signal they need additional support.

You can help kids understand the risks of substance use, provide them with a supportive and nurturing environment, and help prepare and empower them to make good choices - and it all starts with talking. In fact, the sooner you talk with kids about alcohol and other drugs, the greater chance you have of influencing their decisions about substance use. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign provides resources and tools that will help you get informed, be prepared and take action by starting meaningful conversations with kids at an early age and continuing to talk as they get older.

Get Informed

Before you start talking with youth about substance use, underage drinking and other drug use. The adolescent or using other drugs has especially negative consequences judgment and increased risk for injuries, violence, behavioral such as motor vehicle crashes, accidents, suicide and homicide. Use and Health from the Substance Abuse and Mental overdose deaths increased by 109% from 2019 to 2021, fentanyl, counterfeit pills, and stimulants.

You can learn more about the effects of underage drinking “ WHAT PARENTS ARE SAYING - PREVENTION WISDOM, AUTHENTICITY, parents, caregivers, and experts lending their knowledge, about youth substance use and mental health. Additional fact sheets, and brochures, provide information about the as discussion starter ideas and suggestions on what to say

Informed

use, it’s important to get informed about the dangers of brain is still developing, which is why drinking alcohol consequences for young people. Consequences can include impaired behavioral and academic problems, and even death due to events homicide. In addition, the 2021 National Survey on Drug Mental Health Services Administration found that adolescent largely due to opioids (90%) and illicitly manufactured drinking and other drug use by listening to the campaign’s AUTHENTICITY, AND EMPOWERMENT” podcast. It features knowledge, unique perspectives, and experiences to discussions Additional “TALK. THEY HEAR YOU.” materials, including videos, the risks of drinking alcohol and using other drugs, as well say and how to say it.

Be Prepared

To make sure you’re prepared for these important conversations, download the “Talk. They Hear You.”® mobile app on the App Store, Google Play, and Microsoft Store. The app’s resources and tools will show you how to turn everyday situations into opportunities to talk with kids about underage drinking and other drug use - equipping you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to start and continue conversations on these difficult topics as they get older.

The app can also help communities promote and implement the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign locally and assist student assistance professionals, school leaders, and families in working together to support the needs of students who may be struggling with substance use, mental health, or school-related issues.

Take Action

Having short, frequent conversations with youth can have a real impact on their decisions about substance use. And lots of little talks are more effective than one “big talk.” Sitting down for the “big talk” about alcohol and other drugs can be intimidating for everyone involved.

Try using everyday opportunities to start and continue the conversation - in the car, on the bus or subway, during dinner or while watching TV or playing video games. Having many little talks takes the pressure off trying to get all the information out in one lengthy discussion, and kids will be less likely to tune you out.

During these conversations, kids may ask you some tough questions - and “Talk. They Hear You.” has tips to help you be ready to answer them. The campaign’s fact sheets and discussion starter videos show you different ways to talk about substance use and have open, honest conversations.

If you’re an educator or part of a community organization, you can use the “Parents’ Night Out” materials and discussion starter video series to host interactive, facilitator-led educational sessions on substance use prevention. User-friendly toolkits are available for download and include all the materials needed for a single hour-long “Parents’ Night Out” session, or a series of three one-hour program sessions. These toolkits contain everything you’ll need to plan, prepare and host in-person and virtual “Parents’ Night Out” events in your community. Visit the “Talk. They Hear You.” campaign website to learn more.

WHAT IF A CHILD NEEDS MORE SUPPORT?

The campaign’s Screen4Success tool, available via the “Talk. They Hear You.”® mobile app, can help parents and caregivers better understand the health, wellness and wellbeing of their children and find resources to address their needs. Screen4Success asks questions about substance use, mental and physical health, general wellbeing, and family life. This provides an easy way to identify areas where children may benefit from additional support. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to fill out the screener with their kids, as it provides opportunities for discussion now. If that’s not possible, they can send it to their kids to complete it on their own.

Pledge to start - and keep - talking with kids about underage drinking and other drug use prevention: because when you talk, they hear you!

Source: BrandPoint

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SHOCKING NEW STUDY: BLACK AMERICANS EXPERIENCE EXCESS MORTALITY AND YEARS OF LIFE LOST

Anew study shows that after some progress, the number of deaths and years of possible life lost among America’s Black population stopped going down and then started going up again.

The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said their results show that new ways of doing things are needed.

JAMA looked at statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which showed that when the coronavirus pandemic hit the world in 2020, the number of deaths and years of potential life lost went up. Compared to white people, 1.63 million more Black people died than they should have. Experts said that’s the equivalent of 80 million years of potential life during the study period, which took place from 1999 to 2020.

“After a period of progress in reducing disparities, improvements stopped, and differences between the Black population and the white population got worse in 2020,” JAMA experts wrote. “Because of the pandemic, experts stated that years of growth had ended. They said the pandemic affected Black Americans more than other groups.”

Herman Taylor, one of the study’s authors and head of the cardiovascular research institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, said, “The study is very important for about 1.63 million reasons.”

“Real lives are being lost. Real families are missing parents and grandparents,” Taylor declared. “Babies and their mothers are dying. We have been screaming this message for decades.”

Clyde Yancy, an author of the study and chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told reporters that high death rates among Black people have less to do with their genes.

However, it has more to do with the country’s long history of discrimination, which has hurt generations of Black people’s chances of getting an education, a good place to live, and a good job.

Yancy said that Black areas redlined in the 1930s, meaning that mortgages and other investments were too “high risk” for them, are still poorer and sicker today.

Yancy remarked that there were also more COVID infections and deaths in ZIP codes that used to be redlined.

“It’s very clear that we have an uneven distribution of health,” Yancy said. “We’re talking about the freedom to be healthy.”

In 2021, non-Hispanic white Americans could expect to live to 76 years old, but non-Hispanic Black Americans could only hope to live to 71 years old.

A big reason for this difference is another study that showed that non-Hispanic Black babies are 2.5 times more likely to die before their first birthday than non-Hispanic white babies.

Non-Hispanic Black mothers are more than three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related problem than non-Hispanic white moms.

Source: Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent