DRUG-FREE LIFESTYLE EMPHASIZED

An All-Day Conference In San Bernardino Attracts About 300
Teens

SAN BERNARDINO More than 300 eighth-to 12th-graders arrived at the
9th Annual San Bernardino Communities Against Drugs Youth to Youth
Conference to learn a drug-free lifestyle.

For some, the lesson came late.

"I was introduced to drugs at 14." Josh Britton, now a junior at Notre
Dame High School in Riverside, told the group that had met at El Cajon
High School. "I was the guy selling weed to your little sister or brother."

Confronted by a guidance counselor at the school he was then
attending, he denied selling drugs until his mother showed up.

"When I saw the tears in her eyes I couldn't lie anymore," Josh
said.

Josh's parents, Mark and Linda Britton, looked for a peer program to
help their son. Mark Britton knew of Communities Against Drugs. He had
been donating cookies from the cookie company he represents.

The Brittons took Josh to the organization. Within a few meetings,
Josh joined a group basketball team and committed to a drug-free lifestyle.

Now Josh pays for his tuition to the private school as a box boy at a
Stater Brothers supermarket.

Josh introduced his father, who was in the audience, as the man who
supplies the cookies to the events. The crowd shook the bleachers,
stamping their feet and yelling their appreciation.

Some youths who attended had no experience with drugs, alcohol or
tobacco, some had experimented a little and others were in recovery
with a week of sobriety.

Starting at 8 a.m. and ending with a dance from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m.,
the conference was open to any student in eighth through 12th grade.

The students listened to speakers, watched skits, ate hamburgers and
chose from 18 workshop topics varying from Managing Anger to Date
Rape, Alcohol and Drugs or Life After High School before the closing
ceremonies.

They received T-shirts, bags of treats, lunch and dinner. They
collected information as they moved from group activities to workshops
to a variety show.

The courtyard was decorated with balloons, banners and student made
posters. One poster on the red brick wall by an artist with the
initials K.R.R. said: "Define yourself . . . or someone else will."

The cost to participate was $15 per student.

"Kids and their parents don't give a value to something if it's given
away," Jerilyn Simpson, president and CEO of the group, said in
between events.

"We paid for kids to attend an event once and half of them didn't show
up," Simpson said. "We discovered that if they even just come up with
a part of it, they are invested in attending."

But, Simpson said, the organization doesn't turn anyone away if they
don't have the money.

The nonprofit organization receives some funding from the United Way
but mainly depends on funds from its annual golf tournament, held in
May.

Josh Britton wasn't the only teen to tell his story to the group. Four
students addressed the crowd during the 45-minute Drug-Free Panel.

Kayla Zyss, a senior at Big Bear High School, recounted the story of a
sober party she had given.

"I noticed a kid who didn't look good," Kayla said. "I tried to get
him to eat something but he couldn't even get the slice of watermelon
to his mouth, he was shaking so bad."

Scared, Kayla notified her father, a sheriff deputy, and they called
an ambulance. Some kids had snuck Ritalin into the party and the boy
was hospitalized.

Angela Ensign got up in front of the entire group to talk about her
experiences with drugs.

"I tried drugs to get rid of my goody-goody image," the senior from
Centennial High School in Corona told her receptive audience.

Today, Angela is a peer counselor at her school. She was a presenter
of "Every 15 Minutes," a dramatization of the effects of driving under
the influence during one of the workshops.

Latoya Glaspie, a ninth-grader at San Gorgonio High School, told the
crowd why she chose to be drug, alcohol and tobacco free.

"I've never done any drugs, alcohol or tobacco, " Latoya said. "My
nieces look to me as a role model and I don't want to disappoint them
or my family."

During a break, Mike Avellaneda, a senior at Cajon High School,
recalled running into trouble. Even though his friends covered up for
him, he realized he needed to change.

"I lied to my dad and felt I wasn't a good kid anymore," Mike
said.

Mike was lucky: His sister was already in the program so he knew where
to go.

Mike's mother, Dora Avellaneda, her hands icy and wet from handing out
sodas at lunch, works as a volunteer.

"Youth to Youth has helped Mike," Avellaneda said. "He's told me when
he has turned down offers for drugs."