Parental Involvement Necessary To Reduce Youth Substance Abuse

The first cohort of the National Council on Drug Abuse and Prevention Parenting Program started this week, at the Tabernacle Community Centre. The initiative stems from the belief that a concerted effort, inclusive of an intervention by parents, is a necessity to effectively reduce the abuse and misuse of substances among young people.

The program was created after several substance misuse prevention and intervention initiatives at various schools across St. Kitts and Nevis and post-mortem discussions. Parents will engage in four sessions, which are designed to equip them with the knowledge and tools to encourage and guide their children to make pro-social decisions.  

The facilitator for the sessions is Konje Byron, a licensed Mental Health Counselor, in North and South Carolina, USA, who presently resides in St. Kitts. Byron is also an Emotional Processing and Parenting Coach and the owner of Safe Space Parenting.

A St. Kitts and Nevis Secondary School Drug Prevalence Survey concluded that roughly 6 out of every 10 secondary school students surveyed perceived that drugs/ prohibited substances are available in their school. This perception seems to increase with the form (or grade). Seventy-five percent (75%) of the students believed students bring drugs/ prohibited to school