Rushford Media Coverage

Red Ribbon event reminds of drugs’ devastation

By: Samaia Hernandez, Record-Journal staff, 10/25/2009

Drug and alcohol abuse are not only factors in many serious and fatal accidents, but in some cases it can creep in and slowly destroy entire families.

In 1985, 37-year-old Southern California Narcotics Investigator Enrique Camarena was close to exposing a multibillion dollar drug pipeline when he was kidnapped and murdered. Three years later, the U.S. Drug enforcement Administration established national Red Ribbon Week to raise awareness about the dangers associated with drugs.

The week, which concludes at the end of the month, kicked-off Friday in Town Hall’s Council Chambers where the Mayor’s Council on Substance Abuse Prevention, the police department, Rushford, Hartford Healthcare and public school students shared stories and discussed activities that will be taking place all week to honor the occasion.

“The whole concept of Red Ribbon Week is keeping our young people safe,” Lt. Alan Zakrzewski said. “I’ve seen a lot of serious injuries and fatalities over the years and there’s too many.”

Zakrzewski was joined by officers including members of the youth traffic units and the D.A.R.E. officer.

Town Councilor Robert Parisi was able to locate the original town proclamation from 1989, which he presented to Craig Turner, director of Youth & Social Services and chairman of the substance abuse council.

In the town’s public schools, teachers and staff members take a holistic approach to substance abuse issues, Superintendent Salvatore Menzo echoed in his remarks.

“We continue to be role models, we continue to express to our students the need for healthy lifestyles,” Menzo said.

The effort also includes keeping watch out for steroids and other substance abusers, he said, and each school is staffed with a psychologist, social worker and guidance personnel.

Dangers surrounding drug abuse can even apply to seemingly innocent and legal activities, police mentioned. Aside from recent accidents involving area teens, police have seen an increased number of people driving while intoxicated by prescription drugs. “That’s one of the things we’ve been focusing on,” Zakrzewski said.

For the past three years, Rushford has received $85,000 state grant to increase police patrolling efforts and supply area alcohol vendors with devices to crack down on illegal licenses. Additionally, officers make yearly visits to health classes within the district to discuss drinking and driving laws.

But the overall message of the evening is was one that struck a chord with parents and encouraged them to discuss substance abuse issues at home with their children.

“I have probably nevermet a family or individualwho hasn’t someone been effected or impacted by substance abuse,” said Sheryl Sprague, prevention manager for Rushford, who displayed items easily obtained inmany family-oriented stores that promote drinking such as a candle in the shape of a martini glass.

Students from Rock Hill Elementary School discussed weekly activities planned for each grade while middle and high school students shared testimonies of how substance abuse has touched their families and made vows to never do drugs.

“This is a community that cares deeply about its children,” Turner said. But “The critical component is what happens at home.”

Program to help paternal ties with sons

By: Andrew Perlot, Record-Journal staff, 10/14/2009

The Rushford Center is hoping a little bit of shared sweat will keep open a few lines of communication.

Maybe it’s their father or just a father-like figure, but getting middle-school age boys to connect with a paternal adult can yield big dividends, said Krystle Blake, program coordinator for the Rushford Center, which runs substance abuse and mental health programs in the community.

The center is launching a father- son program in the hopes of keeping teenage boys talking to the adult men in their lives. The first meeting is scheduled for Oct. 28 at Beat the Street Community Center, 121 S. Colony St., from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Middle school is something of a watershed time in the life of a teenager, Blake said, with peer pressure to engage in dangerous activities very high. But boys who regularly communicate with their fathers have been shown in multiple studies to have less chance of giving in to this pressure, she said.

The new program, funded by Rushford and a grant from the Cuno Foundation, will give boys a chance to do just that.

“The main goal is to keep the communication open for a healthy life,” Blake said.

At the firstmeeting, Beat the Street staff will walk the group through the basics of working out with weights, boxing and dancing for exercise, depending on their interests, said Executive Director Larry Pelletier.

Upcoming programs might include cooking classes and various speakers, and will probably be held on a monthly basis, Blake said. The program is free and open to all. About 15 father-and-son pairs are signed up so far, she said, and the goal is to attract more.

Rushford has been running a mother-daughter program targeting the same age group for several years, Blake said, and it’s excited to launch a similar effort to help boys.

As a child that grewupwithout a father, Rushford employee Tim Washington, who is helping organize the program, said he understands the importance of having a paternal figure in a young teen’s life. Simply talking to a child on a regular basis can make a big difference, he said.

“I see a lot of fathers that are missing, that are not paying attention to their children,” Washington said. “I was raised without a father... I know how hard it is to make it without a dad in your life or any kind of male role model. I’m trying to get fathers to realize that we really need to pay attention to our children.”

Anyone wishing to join the programcan call Blake at (203) 238-6800.

City, Wallingford see sharp rise in suicides

By: Jason R. Vallee, Record-Journal staff 06/21/2009

Police in Meriden and Wallingford responded to more suicides in the first five months of 2009 than in all of 2008, including three in Wallingford on May 30 alone.

Meriden police reported eight suicides through the end of May, compared to six in all of 2008. Wallingford police reported six suicides through May, compared to two in 2008. Southington, with no suicides this year, and Cheshire, with one, have not seen increases, though.

State officials are keeping an eye on any patterns that may emerge in light of the national economic recession, according to Wayne F. Dailey, spokesman for the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, but Dailey cautioned that it's too early, and may be impossible, to determine if the economy is contributing to an increase in the suicide rate.

Connecticut suicide statistics are only available through 2006 and can lag behind cities and towns because of an extended recording process, said Diana Lejardi, spokeswoman for the state Department of Public Health. The process assures accuracy, but takes many months to complete, she said.

Calls to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have increased dramatically. During the first four months of this year, the hotline received 117,381 calls, compared to 81,131 during the first four months of 2008, an increase of 44 percent. The hotline has received more than 29,000 calls in three of the first four months of 2009. That had happened in only one month before this year.

"The economy and financial stress certainly are contributing factors" to suicide, "but in most cases a person has a genetic disposition that puts them more at risk," said Marc Bono, director of mental health services for the Rushford Center in Meriden. "Anything can trigger thoughts, especially in someone with clinical depression, but the important thing is to recognize signals, whether direct or indirect, and to create a plan to prevent it from reaching that stage."

Wallingford police experienced what can happen when those triggers are set off on May 30 as officers responded to calls at 10 a.m. on Mohican Drive, 2 p.m. near East Side Drive and 10 p.m. on South Branford Road. In those cases, police sources reported that two of the suicide victims suffered from cancer and a third was an older man whose wife had just died and who had recently been arrested.

Deputy Police Chief Thomas J. Curran said having that many calls in one day takes a toll on both officers and the community at large. He said the department is concerned about having multiple incidents so close together and said it is stressful and challenging for officers to respond to traumatic situations such as suicide.

To determine the underlying issues leading to suicide and reduce the number of attempts in the community, Curran said police need to work collectively with the rest of the community.

"It's a collective issue and a societal problem," Curran said. "We need to address the problem on all levels, not just through law enforcement, and work with schools and other agencies in order to address the problem."

Suicide occurs among young and old, male and female, Bono said. While there tends to be a focus on adolescents, anyone could be at risk, he said.

"There is a stigma with suicide where people, and often adults, believe they cannot talk about the subject," he said. "We need to educate people on the risk factors and break the stigma to let people know it is OK to ask for assistance."

People with depression should create a plan for when things start to seem bad, Bono said. The plan should include steps to take to avoid feeling depressed, but should also include steps for friends and family to lend their support.

The involvement of others and a written plan can be the best defense against suicidal thoughts even for people with severe clinical depression, he said. It's also the best prevention because, once patients go beyond a certain point, it becomes much more difficult to fight suicide, he said.

Help is available through a variety of agencies, including the Rushford Center, local health departments and police and fire departments.

"The most important message to relay is that if you are thinking of suicide or are depressed about something, tell someone," Bono said. "It doesn't have to be a doctor or professional. It can be a friend, family member or coworker, but tell someone. That one piece of advice can save many lives."

For more information or to learn more about preventing suicide visit the CDC online at http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/suicide. To contact the Rushford Center, go to www.rushford.org or call 1-800-542-4791. For immediate help, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.