To the editor:

I am profoundly sad that the current youth mental health and substance abuse crisis is nowhere in the public discourse about our community and schools. We have a huge youth drug problem in our own high school. It is an outrage and we have to do better because our school is currently not a safe and healthy place for all kids when drugs are prevalent. I’ve spoken with students, other parents, staff, administrators, community members and our local police and what I’ve learned is deeply troubling.

WPRI recently published an opioid overdose alert for increased activity in our state and our region is exceeding thresholds over time. There is a significant and growing body of medical literature that inextricably links mental health and substance abuse. These issues don’t discriminate - it affects honors students, athletes, and nontraditional learners - we cannot be lulled into a false sense of security that it won’t happen to my kid/my family/me. It can.

Among students, there is a perception that “no one ever does anything” to stop drug use at school. Students are afraid to use the bathrooms because of the rampant drug use. Recovering students receive little to no support and fear going to school because of the drug selling/possession/abuse/use when the urge to use and fear of relapse is strong. We need our kids to feel empowered to speak up and to advocate for themselves and others but we are accountable for keeping them safe. 

As parents, we need to talk about these issues early and often, ask tough questions, abandon permissive attitudes, hold boundaries, and acquire the tools to navigate the unprecedented challenges in our world. We need to model by example - because our kids are watching us - they see how we cope with stress and our own relationship with substances. We need to know where our kids are, who they are with, and what they are doing, including online. We need to teach that under no circumstances is driving impaired ever acceptable. We need to support other parents without judgment and partner to keep our kids safe. We need to reach kids who are too consumed by the psychological grip of addiction to ask for help themselves. 

We need school staff who lament “we can’t enforce it” to focus on what we can do and what we need in order to do better, and to communicate frustrations of the lack of administrative action on this issue and demand solutions. Staff who suspect a kid in the classroom is high, or who know a kid is dealing to minors need to act - not to shrug their shoulders and look away.

Our administration needs to continue to focus on the health and safety of our kids as the first priority, and to avoid the distraction of the latest  “squeaky wheel” until we’ve fixed this problem. We need them to be transparent, collaborative, and action-oriented and to engage the community in solutions. We need to prioritize funding for what they need - whether more dedicated onsite time from the school resource officer, external bathroom monitoring, a vape detection system, or bringing resources into our community to drive prevention. We need the administration to partner with the BPD and take a zero tolerance stance against dealers who are selling to minors.

We need our police force to identify and crack down on those who sell drugs to kids. It’s a well-known fact that our local grocery stores - the same grocery stores where many of us buy groceries for our families and where our Scouts and athletic teams fundraise - are a hot spot for drug deals. There are numerous others. It’s a well known fact which local gas stations in the area don’t card minors for vape pens and carts. 

Finally, we need the community and our elected officials to prioritize, find and fund solutions to this issue.

We must normalize talking about mental health and substance abuse. We have one of the best school systems in the state and are consistently on the higher end of national rankings. We can do amazing things working together. Let’s become known for leading by example on this issue, and let’s not wait for another tragedy to act.  Our kids are counting on us. 

Respectfully,

Anne Claussen

Barrington