YOUTH RALLY AGAINST DRUG USE

A growing drug problem among teens in Penticton has young local
leaders to encouraging youth to speak out.

"Youth feel like they are not taken seriously," said youth advocate
Elaine Alec, who along with her husband Rob Sawan, helped to organize
the Penticton Rally Against Drugs near Penticton Secondary School on
Thursday. "We are trying to show them how to get active and use their
voice in a positive way."

Along with Sawan and Alec, the rally included members of the South
Okanagan Aboriginal Youth Group and other Penticton youth who held up
placards with messages such as "Drugs destroy lives" and "Protect
future generations."

The couple, who spends their time working with youth in the South
Okanagan and doing talks across the continent, say they organized the
rally in response to the major increase in the amount of drug use
among local teens.

Alec said she and Sawan often hear about youth overdosing, being
raped and being forced into drug dealing. The drugs they are seeing
the biggest increase in use is crack cocaine and crystal meth, which
they said is being peddled to some children as young as 11 and 12.

Because of their relationships with many local youth, Alec and her
husband often receive calls from parents, or even other young people
who are concerned about a friend who is using drugs or drinking.
These calls are most commonly about youth who haven't returned home
after a night out. It is in these cases, that Alec said they often
find youth who have been partying all night, are passed out or in
some cases have overdosed and are in hospital.

While she said teens using drugs has been an issue for many years,
Alec is concerned that the community has become apathetic and simply
turned away rather than addressing the problem. She is hoping the
rally will be the first step to changing those attitudes.

"If we lead by example then it can take on a ripple effect," she said.

While not everyone invited to the rally turned up, Alec said the
message they were sending did receive support through e-mails from
many community leaders. And it was clear Thursday that the community
supported their campaign as cars passing the rally honked in support.
Sawan welcomed the show of support but challenged the community to go further.

"Put some action behind those honks," he said.

They are hoping that the rally will not only educate and empower
youth to speak out, but show them that when they do the community
will be listening.

"We want to get more youth issues to the forefront," she said, adding
that youth too often issues involving youth are managed without their
input or totally ignored. "The kids need to be involved."

Ultimately Alec said she would like youth to be able to say, "I can
make a change, I do have a voice."