Near Zero Attendance At Parent Summit One Mother Shows Up For Workshops On Drug And Violence Prevention
Only one person came.
More than 10,000 fliers were sent to parents, community centers and public schools, but only one mother showed up Saturday at a parent summit on drug and violence prevention.
“I guess parents don’t think they’re affected,” said coordinator Linda Thompson as she glanced at the 200 empty chairs in the North Central High School cafeteria. “Maybe they still count on schools to raise their kids.”
Thompson, the executive director of Spokane’s Prevention Center, expected at least 100 parents to attend the event. She and a dozen volunteers spent two months preparing workshops on topics such as parenting skills and anger management.
But their efforts were in vain.
The free T-shirts remained folded at the entrance. Muffins and coffee were left untouched. At the end of the day, hundreds of informational pamphlets still covered the tables.
“We’re disappointed,” Thompson said, shaking her head in disbelief. “But it really speaks to what’s happening. Parents don’t realize prevention starts at home.”
Beth Davis - the only participant at the parent summit - received private lessons from counselors and therapists who volunteered to speak at Saturday’s event.
“I came because I care about my kids,” said Davis, who drove from the Deer Park area to attend the event. “I want to give them the best chance of having a good life.”
For several hours, she learned about gangs and their behavior from two retired Los Angeles police officers. She tested a pair of “fatal vision” goggles - glasses that simulated sight for someone with at least a .15 blood alcohol level. She also became acquainted with the lingo: “Bud” is marijuana, not beer, they told her. A “blunt” is pot smoked in a cigar wrapper. And herbal ecstasy, a stimulant, can be bought at shops in the Spokane area.
“When it comes to sex and drugs, our kids are highly educated,” said Al MacDonald, a discipline supervisor at Colville High School. “Parents are the ones who don’t know.”
Most of all, Saturday’s speakers emphasized the importance of spending time with children. At a time when kids are constantly exposed to drugs and violence, parents still commit “drive-by drop-ins,” said Rob Watters, a treatment supervisor at Spokane’s NATIVE project. They drop their kids off at community centers or events, expecting other adults to take care of them, he said.
“We don’t have adults in kids’ lives anymore,” he said. “The only thing we can give our kids, besides love, is time.”
, DataTimes