Prevention Newsletter

YAK is Back: Second YAK Night of the Year

One hundred and twelve Il-

waco High School students

participated in the second

annual YAK night held on

March 22nd at the Boys and

Girls Club.

Ilwaco’s Youth Action Klub,

YAK, planned and organized

the event. After the first

YAK night of the school year

in November, YAK members

listened to student feedback

and made plans for an even

better spring YAK night.

YAK would like to thank the

Boys and Girls Club for allow-

ing them to use their space

for the event. YAK would

also like the thank the won-

derful volunteer chaperones

who make the event pos-

sible. YAK night was par-

tially funded by Well-

spring Community Net-

work.

In October of 2012 Ilwaco

students, along with thou-

sands of other Washington

state students, participated

in the Healthy Youth Survey.

Data from the survey showed

a decrease in the number of

students who claimed to have

recently used alcohol, to-

bacco or marijuana from the

2010 results.

From 2010 to 2012 7% less

8th graders reported alcohol

use in the last 30 days, there

was also a 8% decrease of

use among 10th graders and

6% decrease for 12th grade

students.

One of the most dramatic

decreases was in marijuana

use among 12th graders.

Inside this issue:

Wellspring Town

Hall

2

Teen Alcohol

Use Numbers

2

Marijuana vs.

Tobacco

2

Teen Depression 3

Drug Testing

Helps Youth

3

YAK/YES 4

Reduce Under-

age Drinking

4

2012 Healthy Youth Survey Confirms that

Most Ilwaco Students Don’t Use Drugs

Ilwaco Midd

le/High Scho

ol

March 2013

Volume 4, Issue 7

Percentage of students who have never used

marijuana

86

4348

84

57

48

83

72

47

90

7471

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

8th grade 10th grade 12th grade

2006

2008

2010

2012

Wellspring’s Annual Town Hall will

have a different look this year.

On April 11th from 5:00 PM to 7:00

PM all community members are in-

vited to a free commu-

nity carnival.

Along with games and

food, the carnival will

feature information

booths sponsored by

community groups and

organizations.

The carnival is free and open to all

ages. The Boys and Girls club will be

hosting a dance for students in

grades 5 to 7 at the club house in

the old high school. A dinner will be

served in the commons at Hilltop

school. The booths and games will be

in the Hilltop gym.

Members of the YES and YAK

groups will be helping run carnival

games. Many community organiza-

tions will be represented.

Everyone in our community is wel-

come to attend!

Marijuana more Popular then Tobacco for Washington Students

Washington high school students who

participated in a statewide survey say

they are twice as likely to smoke mari-

juana as cigarettes, and the state's top

health official said Thursday she's wor-

ried that a new marijuana law may make

prevention efforts more difficult.

High school smoking has decreased sig-

nificantly across the state, with ciga-

rette smoking down in grades 6, 8, 10 and

12, but the number of high school stu-

dents who believe using marijuana is risky

is also at a low point, health officials said

after releasing the 2012 survey results.

More than half of 10th graders said it is

easy to get marijuana and about 19 per-

cent said they smoked marijuana within

30 days of the survey. About 27 percent

of 12th graders said they smoked pot.

More than 200,000 youth took the volun-

tary and anonymous survey in October.

Washington Health Secretary Mary Se-

lecky expressed concern that marijuana

prevention efforts aren't ready to ramp

up in response to the new state law.

"As the perception of harm goes down,

use goes up," she said.

The Healthy Youth Survey is taken every

two years by

students in

grades 6, 8,

10 and 12, in

more than

1,000 public

schools in

Washington.

Background: In the Fall of 2012 more

than 200,000 students in grades 6, 8,

10 and 12 took the Washington

State Healthy Youth Survey. The sur-

vey is administered every two years in

public schools.

Alcohol use has dropped among all

grades surveyed since 2010:

• Nearly 11,000 fewer students are using

alcohol compared to 2010. This is equiva-

lent to six large high schools in Washington.

• Alcohol use peaked in 1998 and is cur-

rently at the lowest levels since the survey

began

in

1990:

8th: 12% 10th 23% 12th 36%

• Since 1998, drinking among 8th and 10th

graders has dropped by half, and use

among 6th graders has dropped from 14%

to 2.5%.

• Since 1998, the percentage of 10th grad-

ers who binge drink (five or more drinks in a

row) has dropped from 28% to 14%.

• More students believe drinking is risky:

43% of 10th graders believe there is great

risk in having one or two drinks every day,

compared to 39% in 2010.

There is more we can do to protect kids:

• More than 115,000 youth (12-17 year

olds) used alcohol in the past 30 days.

• Nearly one in five 12th graders (19%) has

been drunk or high at school, along with

15% of 10th graders.

• Teens most often get alcohol from

friends, and from home without permission.

As teens get older, parents need to keep

talking:

• 40% of 8th graders say their parents have

talked to them more than once about not

Washington 2012 Healthy Youth Survey Shows Decrease in

Teen Alcohol Use

Wellspring Community Carnival is April 11th

Prevention Newsletter Page 2

A high number of teens have

depressive feelings, and many

have attempted suicide:

• More than one in four students had

feelings of hopelessness for two or

more weeks in the past year.

• Over 100,000 youth (12-17 year

olds) seriously considered suicide in

the past year, which is about one in

every six students:

• 17% of 8th graders

• 19% of 10th graders

• 17% of 12th graders

• Between 13-14% of students in

grades 8, 10 and 12 made a suicide

plan in the past year.

· About 8% of 8th and 10th graders

attempted suicide in the past year.

What Can I Do to Prevent

Teen Suicide?

Parents, friends, teachers, and

coaches can make a difference by

taking these steps:

Watch for warning signs:

• Previous suicide attempts, talk of

suicide, or making a plan. Giving away

prized possessions.

• Expressions of hopelessness, help-

lessness or anger at oneself or the

world.

• Themes of death or depression in

conversation, writing, reading or art.

Statements of not being missed if

dead.

• Recent loss of a friend, family mem-

ber or parent, through death or di-

vorce.

• Alcohol or other drug use.

• Chronic headaches, stomachaches,

fatigue.

Show you care:

• Often, suicidal thinking comes from

a wish to end deep psychological pain.

Death seems like the only way out, but

it isn’t.

• Let the person know you really care.

Talk about your feelings and ask about

his or hers. Listen carefully to what

they have to say.

Ask the question:

• Don't hesitate to raise the subject.

Talking with young people about sui-

cide won't put the idea in their heads.

• Be direct in a caring way. Ask if they

are thinking about suicide, if they

really want to die, or if they simply

want their problems to go away.

• Learn more about preventing youth

suicide at www.yspp.org.

Get Help:

Call the Washington State Recovery

Help Line for free, confidential crisis

counseling and referrals to treatment

for substance use or mental health

conditions: 1-866-789-1511 or

Teenline: 1-866-833-6546.

Drug Testing of Middle-School Students May Help Prevent Substance Abuse According to Study

Random drug testing of middle-school students may help prevent substance abuse, a six-year study of

New Jersey students suggests.

Students who were randomly tested for drugs were less likely to use them in later years, according to the study, conducted by the Part-nership for a Drug-Free New Jersey

and Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Lead researcher Dan Cassino said when middle-school students are tested for drugs, they realize drug use can get them in trouble. He

noted expanding random drug test-ing, while it might be effective,

would be costly.

“We still see a spike around the jun-ior year of high school,” Cassino said, “but that spike is much smaller among students who actu-ally were ran-domly drug tested at some

point.”

“These results show that student drug testing changes the environ-ment of the school community and show they serve as an effective pre-vention strategy for the abuse of drugs and alcohol in their future,” Angelo M. Valente, Executive Direc-tor of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey. “This study proves random drug testing in New Jersey middle schools helps prevent sub-

stance abuse.”

2012 Washington Healthy Youth Survey Data Indicates a

High Number of Teens with Feelings of Depression

Volume 4, Issue 7 Page 3

YAK—Youth Action Klub is open to all Ilwaco High School students. Meetings are held every Wednes-day during 1st and 3rd lunches in the library. YAK focuses on helping students live a safe, healthy, substance free life.

YES—Youth Empowerment Squad is open to all Pa-cific County Middle and High School aged stu-dents. Meeting are held once a month. For more information contact Mrs. Kelly or Wellspring Ad-ministrator Monica Younger at 360-783-1090

P r e v e n t i o n C e n t e r

cluded: Long

Beach Police

Department,

Raymond Po-

lice Depart-

ment, Pacific

County Sher-

riff’s Depart-

ment, WA State Department of

Fish & Wildlife, Longview Police

Department, Pacific County Public

Health & Human Services Depart-

ment, Pacific County Target Zero

Task Force, and the Wellspring

Coalition.

Chief Flint Wright, from the Long

Beach Police Department states,

“As a community we are trying to

send a strong message that we are

not going to tolerate underage

Law enforcement from around

Pacific County recently partici-

pated in a training called

“Controlled Party Dispersal/

Source Investigation” presented by

national trainer, RJ Elrick from the

Underage Drinking Enforcement

Training Center (UDETC). Par-

ticipants learned about the most

current techniques for party pre-

vention, party containment and

safe dispersal of the youth attend-

ing underage drinking parties.

The training also focused on how

to hold adult providers account-

able for their role in providing al-

cohol to minors. Participants in-

drinking and we are going to espe-

cially target those individuals who

supply alcohol to underage drink-

ers for prosecution. This training

is an important part of our ongoing

efforts to curb underage drinking

and protect our community.”

For more information about the

Enforcing Underage Drinking

Laws (EUDL) grant contact

Melissa Sexton, EUDL coordina-

tor, (360) 642-9349.

Ilwaco Middle/High

School

PO Box F

Ilwaco, WA 98624

Phone: 360-642-1244

Fax: 360-642-1224

E-mail:

sarah.taylor@oceanbeachschools

.org

We’re on the web

ocean.k12.wa.us

Local Law Enforcement Participate in Training to

Address Underage Drinking