TEENS TALK ABOUT ADDICTION

A Film About Youth Overcoming Adversity And Substance Abuse Is Making Its
Public Debut Next Week.

Nancy Reagan isn't there telling you to just say no.

There aren't any eggs that are your brain, slopped into a frying pan.

What Langley School District's film called Project Resiliency does have is
frank, candid, and mature discussion about youth and drugs.

And that discussion comes from Langley youth themselves.

The decision not to create a "scare tactic" film was a conscious one, said
Barry MacDonald, a program coordinator in the district's student services
department

"Kids are smart," he said. "Kids see through manipulation _ and the bottom
line is kids do drugs because they feel good.

"Kids turn off right away when we say [drugs] are bad, don't do it."

Most important, MacDonald said, Project Resiliency is a film for youth, by
youth.

"We knew the message for youth had to come from youth," he said.

Part of that message is, as the film starts, that "beneath a bustling
metropolis - lies a secret."

"The secret is, there's a drug problem," MacDonald said.

The 22 minute film, which features Langley youth talking about their
struggles with substance abuse, will have its first public screening this
Monday, April 25, 7 p.m., at Brookswood Secondary School.

Admission is free, and audience members are encouraged to arrive early to
secure parking, as another event is also occurring at the school at the
same time.

Project Resiliency is also the name of an initiative formed by the school
district's Secondary Students at Educational Risk program to address youth
substance abuse in Langley. The idea for the film came out of that
project's substance abuse task force.

MacDonald and other members of the task force will be at the screening to
field questions from the audience.

Directed by Chad Toronchuk, a recent graduate of Brookswood Secondary
School, Project Resiliency uses the powerful words of youth themselves to
carry its message.

One girl tells the camera she started using drugs and alcohol "to forget
everything."

Another shares how she turned to the sex trade after she started smoking crack.

Another says drugs are fun - at first - but then the ball starts rolling
"and it never gets better."

The sleek film, with unique editing and framing, has the youth talking
about what turned them to addiction, and how and why they are fighting the
pull of drugs.

It also tackles surrounding issues of youth drug addiction, such as the
messages carried by culture and media. As one student notes, everyone tries
to steer youth away from drugs, but beer commercials feature people
drinking and having a good time.

Interesting points and candid comments are also made when the issue of
school suspension and drug-sniffing dogs in schools are discussed.

Some of the most compelling comments are the messages the youth had for
parents.

"No matter how old your kids are, they still want your love and attention,"
one girl said.

Flyers advertising the film contain the tag line: Real youth, real life,
real hope.

The film ends with that hope, as the youth talk about their future.

"Whatever you want in life, you can attain it," one said. "You just have to
fight really hard for it."