ADULTS CAN HELP STEM DRUG USE IN YOUTH

Some children are starting to use drugs, mainly marijuana, at an
earlier age, members of the League of Women Voters of the Dalton Area
were told Wednesday. "It used to be that many of those who use drugs
started in high school. Now, we are seeing more and more start in
middle school," said America Gruner, a counselor with Dalton-based
Alianza Familiar (Family Alliance) that aids Hispanics in Whitfield
and Murray counties. The group, which provides family counseling and
other mental health services, has even encountered grade-school
children who use and sell drugs. But Hispanics often don't know whom
to turn to when they need family counseling or drug counseling, Gruner
said. And even when they do turn to the right agency, they may not be
able to communicate their problems. "Depression is very common in our
population.

It's a great change to move to another country with a
different language and different culture," Gruner said. Women, in
particular, are at risk. "They are less likely to know how to drive or
know the language, and they are more likely to feel isolated," she
said. And they may not know how to reach out for help. "If they go to
clinics, they probably won't find anyone who speaks Spanish, and they
can't communicate their problems," Gruner said.

So a little more than a year ago, Gruner and others formed Alianza Familiar,
which provides counseling and out-patient treatment for children and families in
both English and Spanish. It's funded through a variety of mechanisms,
Medicaid and PeachCare, among them. "We try not to turn anyone away,"
Gruner said. Lack of adult supervision lies at the root of many
problems, Gruner said. "Parents are away at work, especially in the
afternoon. And children are left alone. They begin to think that no
one cares about them, and they grow angry," she said. Such children
turn to drugs to relieve their stress, and they may also turn to
gangs. Immigrants don't bring the gang problem with them, she
stressed. "The gangs are brought here by people who move here from
places like Los Angeles and New York and Chicago. They were involved
in gang activity there, and they try to get the children here into
those gangs," she said. Gruner said that the best way to address the
problems of gangs and teen drug use is through more adult supervision
of minors. "We need more after-school programs and recreational
activities. And we need mentors who will work with children and give
them role models to imitate," she said.