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COALITION PARTNERS PARTICIPATE IN A SUBSTANCE ABUSE TOWN HALL MEETING HOSTED BY THE COLLIER COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Helping kids make good choices

requires a collective effort

by Guy Blanchette
President and CEO, Drug Free Collier
T he youth of today are faced with increasingly complex that has increased significantly. The

information age has brought information
situations as they grow, learn and attempt to find purpose,
manage themselves and their relationships, and make
overload. It is difficult to sift through it
healthy choices. Through advances in technology, changes
all without the underpinning concepts
in societal values and expectations placed on them from
foundational life skills – in other words,
multiple directions, kids are often confronted with decisions they of decision-making paradigms and
have not yet been given the tools to manage. how to make the “right” decision.
Fundamentals that were often developed on the playground Helping young people develop
such as group dynamics, anger management, fair play, compassion these life skills is a responsibility and
and competition are now introduced much later in life, failing to an opportunity that we must all share.
build on the basic foundations of these principles when they need Parents play the primary role, yes, but
them the most. given the vast and deep challenges facing young people today, it’s
Although many of the issues faced by kids today such as bullying imperative we view the well-being of our children as a community-
(cyber and traditional), drug use and peer pressure have plagued wide mission.
society for ages, it is the intensity in which they are presented Collier County is fortunate to have a coalition of stakeholders

34 Life in Naples | August • September • October 2017