Drug forum for parents

An open forum for parents on the Peninsula, "But all the other parents...", will be held during Drug Action Week at Club Umina.

It will be held in the club's auditorium, in Melbourne Ave, Umina, on Wednesday, June 21, from 7pm to 9pm.

A panel of members of supporting agencies will be on hand to provide parents with information and answer any questions that parents may have in relation to alcohol and other drugs.

People from various sections of Area Health, Umina Police and Community Youth Club, RAPT (Reconnecting Adolescent and Parents Team), and Regional Youth Service will take part.

The chairperson of the Peninsula Community Drug Action Team Ms Carolyn Carter said that alcohol in particular could be very dangerous because it was legal and used by 95 per cent of the adult population.

"We are so familiar with it, we sometimes forget the harm it can do," Ms Carter said.

"Alcohol is related to a very high percentage of road accidents and violent assaults.

"In particular, we are concerned about sexual assaults that happen amongst the teenage girls who have been at drinking parties on the Central Coast.

"Nothing is worse for a parent than to lose their child or to have their child's life destroyed in such tragic circumstances."

The Peninsula Community Drug Action Team is sponsoring the forum for parents to help them help their children with issues associated with alcohol and other drugs.

"It's never too young to start teaching your children about managing the risks around alcohol and other drugs, or to work together to prevent the supply of alcohol and drugs in the first place," said Ms Carter.

"One of the aims of the forum is to help parents to come up with strategies to cope positively with pressure applied by their young teenage children when they want to go out to parties where adult supervision is uncertain or non-existent."

Parents who would like to pose questions relating to alcohol and other drugs in advance of the forum are invited to email these to ccar6071@bigpond.net.au or phone 4342 3799.

Press release, June 7 Carolyn Carter, Peninsula Community Drug Action Team