This week is National Prevention Week (May 13th to May 19th), dedicated to increasing action and awareness around substance abuse and behavioral health issues. Several studies have shown this is a time of year that adolescents try substances for the first time.
Cheri Hample, the Clinic Manager at Sitka Counseling and Prevention Services, talks about the work of Sitka’s HOPE Coalition and the Tobacco 21 initiative being considered by the Sitka Assembly. “Community involvement and engagement is really important when you look at preventing youth from getting involved in substance use,” said Hample. The HOPE Coalition holds free Teen Nights at the Hames Center every Friday.
