More than two years ago Prevention Network of Syracuse put a “shout-out” to the community seeking anyone interested in brainstorming solutions to underage drinking. A few members of the Skaneateles PACT (Parents, Community And Teens Together) organization attended the first meetings and began a long process to develop an educational tool aimed at parents as opposed to students. The original thoughts coming out of the PACT organization were concerns that parents tend to look the other way when it comes to underage drinking. Many parents look to their own experiences and feel it is a rite of passage for many youth to drink because they did as teenagers.

The original meetings at Prevention Network included many educators, and we all agreed that a parenting educational video on drug and alcohol awareness is critical in our community. It will take a real change in attitude of parents before any change can be seen in our teenagers.

The original committee was expanded to include input from law enforcement, the district attorney's office, Syracuse University, student assistant counselors, a superintendent (Mr. Joe Rotella), guidance counselors, drug rehab facilities, teen centers and educators from all walks of life in Syracuse.

The interest was astounding, and focus groups led to a real script written by Phil Rose and assisted by Dessa Bergen of Syracuse University and myself.

Funded by the Stopped DWI program in Syracuse, the new video, “You Can't Afford to Be Clueless - Raising Parent Awareness about Underage Drinking and Drug Use,” was produced this summer by our own local WCNY. The video is a beautifully blended piece of interviews of parents, teens and educators in the community. It draws upon the personal experiences of members of our community highlighting both negative and positive experiences. Phil Rose of Prevention Network calls the video “hard-hitting, honest and helpful.” Supporting facts on drug and alcohol abuse of youth are eye-opening to say the least.

Two-hundred and fifty copies of the video will be distributed to Onondaga County high schools and middle schools in the next two weeks. The hope is that the video will be used for situations where captive audiences of parents are gathered for another reason such as back to school night, athletic code presentations or school orientations. The video is 15 minutes long and the original distribution in Onondaga County will be funded by the Matthew Angelillo Fund at the Skaneateles High School.

If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the video for use in educational forums or other captive audience situations, please contact Prevention Network at 471-1359. Prevention Network manages several community groups for teens and parents. Information can be found also at www.preventionnetwork.com.

Services offered by the Skaneateles PACT organization can also be found at www.pactskaneateles.com.

Personal words

My own personal experience of losing my beloved son, Matthew, leads me to be involved in this project. Hope for the Bereaved in Syracuse teaches many of us to actively share our pain in the hopes of helping ourselves and others. I commend so many of the participants in this video as I know it is not easy to be public about our experiences. The most challenging task of the last two years was asking people to do such a courageous thing ... share their pain. I thank every one of the participants in this video as they will make a difference for so many others.

Marianne Angelillo is a PACT board member.