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By Rebecca Smith Next Step counselor Jansen McDonald, LMSW, happened upon the counseling field in an unusual way. “I majored in psychology in college just because I love to be with people, but I didn’t know what that would entail for me,” he said. “When I really...
by Joseph Byrum Coalition Corner is an opportunity to highlight the good work that coalition members do every day and to hear their thoughts about coalition work. Officer Patricia Davis is a School Resource Officer at Kilgore Middle School and serves as the Youth Director for the...
By Nathan Grounds Substance Abuse Prevention Month This October marks the 10th annual National Substance Abuse Prevention Month, a designation designed to honor those who have lost their lives to substance abuse and to highlight the significance of prevention efforts nationwide. Substance misuse is not something foreign to...
Most teens don’t drink regularly. Why do so many East Texans believe the myth that they do? One of the questions we ask students during alcohol presentations is “What percentage of teens do you think drink regularly?” More often than not, students think that most of their...
On day three of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, let’s talk about prescription drug abuse. Prescription drug abuse, particularly opioid abuse, has had a devastating impact on this country for the last few years. While the US has made strides in addressing the issue, we...
As part of National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week, we’d like to remind parents about the importance of talking to their children and teens about underage drinking. You may be thinking, “We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, why would I worry about talking to...
By Nathan Grounds In our previous blog post, we gave a cursory summary of the War on Drugs and revealed its failure to curb the American drug epidemic. In this post we’ll discuss the modern approach to addiction, which holds great potential in actually helping people...
By Nathan Grounds I was 7 years old when Toy Story hit theaters. Although I was old enough to know better, the portrayal of walking, talking toys reinvigorated my imagination. I soon found myself speaking to my toys and keeping them on clean, open shelves (rather...
Underage drinking kills more teens than all other illicit drugs combined, about 4,300 annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Prevention Week is this week. Tuesday’s focus is on alcohol. While most people think of car...
Opioid abuse and overdose has become the defining public health crisis of our time. On average, 130 Americans die every day of opioid overdose, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. This week is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Prevention...