OLDS — The Olds & Area Substance Use Coalition is holding a two-part event to provide parents with information and advice on how to talk to their kids about substance abuse.
The event, entitled Kids & Drugs: A parent’s Guide To Prevention, will be held Thursday, April 28 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at École Olds School (ÉOHS).
Christine Laval, a health promotion facilitator with Alberta Health Services (AHS) and a member of the coalition, says to her knowledge, this is the first time this event has been held in Olds.
"Our hope is to just kind of raise awareness around addiction prevention and harm reduction within the community,” she said during an interview.
The first part will be two talks that will be given from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
One will be given by a representative of the Turning Point Society which works on harm reduction in central Alberta. The other will be given by a representative of AHS’s addiction and mental health arm.
Laval says the talks will centre on how parents can have conversations with their children about substance use/abuse. Tips will also be provided on general signs and symptoms that would indicate some form of substance use/abuse.
Then, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., a resource fair will be held in the ÉOHS commons area.
Laval said the fair will feature booths from agencies such as Al-Anon, the Central Alberta FASD Network, Mountain View Family Resources, Turning Point, Addiction and Mental Health, Olds RCMP and the Chinook’s Edge School Division.
Laval said opportunity to attend the first part of the evening – the speaking part --- is limited.
“We do require preregistration for the first part of the event, just because we only have 34 spaces available,” she warned.
However, Laval said the second part – the fair – is open to everyone.
Laval said part of the reason for holding the Kids & Drugs event now is because the lifting of COVID restrictions makes it possible.
“We had some events pre-COVID, but this is kind one of our first big events post-COVID,” she said.
Another goal is just a desire to get the word out. Laval noted the coalition has existed for about four years now.
“We want to be able to offer people an opportunity to come learn in person and connect with some of those community resources if they are experiencing anything addiction-related,” she said.
Laval said work on organizing Kids & Drugs began about five months ago.
