Learn, Share, Be Part of the Solution

By Susan Vlcek, Junior Leadership Director

What’s the first word that comes to mind when you hear the phrase Group Projects? I’m no mentalist, but intuition tells me it is not “fun” or “easy.”
One of the four Jr. Leadership class projects currently being implemented is SUPPORT: Sharing Uplifting Possibilities, Protecting Others, & Recovering Together. This incredibly dedicated team is holding an addiction forum on Saturday, March 18, 8:30am-noon at the Medina High School Performing Arts Center.

The goal of this project group is to get students/families, school personnel and local mental health professionals in dialogue about how they see the drug/alcohol abuse issue from their perspective and how we can all work together to address it. The morning will include two local speakers: Wadsworth resident Nick Bianco, a recovering addict, and Brunswick High School mental health specialist Nicole Stacy. Keynote speaker is Dr. Brad Lander, Clinical Director of Addiction Psychology at The Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. This will be a rare opportunity and a valuable conversation for anyone interested in/dealing with the addiction epidemic we are facing.

Colin Wright, class member and Wadsworth HS junior, states, “We’re very excited to bring this event to the community. We’ve worked hard to make sure this will be a great event.” Cloverleaf HS junior Meriwether Harmon shared, “We wanted to do something about the growing drug problem in Medina County. We hope this seminar will increase the community’s awareness, but we can only be successful through the support and participation of the community.”

The SUPPORT project team is doing what each of us is called to do: lead. Creating this opportunity has not been fun or easy for these young leaders, yet it has been meaningful and empowering. We ask for your support of their efforts; attend and invite others for whom this will be meaningful.
Register here: https://goo.gl/forms/1zctoyN2NmVoz2Yp1