Pubdate: Sat, 08 Oct 2005 Source: Montgomery Advertiser (AL) Copyright: 2005 The Advertiser Co. Contact: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/customerservice/letter.htm Website: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1088 Note: Letters from the newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Erin Elaine Mosely KIDS DEPRESSED, USING DRUGS WETUMPKA -- Kristen Johnston is an average 16-year-old. She and her friends share each other's deepest secrets. Johnston said some of her friends wrote suicide notes or came to her for help, and she too has experienced dark thoughts of ending her own life. "I know some of my friends have journals, and they write a lot," said the Wetumpka High School student. "They just write and write and when their journals are full they just close it. They don't go back and read it because it just reminds them of their problems. "I think everyone goes through a stage, but you get out of it," she said. "Just like a depression when you start out high school or go to a new high school and you try to fit in and get all depressed. I just figured I'd die ... whenever I die, it wasn't up to me." These teens are not alone. Societal stress has weighed heavy on the minds of some students in Elmore County. According to a recent survey, 303 students out of 4,160 questioned in grades 6-12 admitted they thought a lot or seriously about suicide. The same survey revealed students experimented with hard drugs such as cocaine as early as sixth grade. The PRIDE survey is administered in school systems through the state Department of Education. Students are given a 40-minute survey on a variety of topics such as drug use and whether they are involved in community or school activities. Students' identities are kept confidential. As results from the survey and other statistical data became available, Elmore County officials looked for ways to address the county's substance abuse problems. In August, the Elmore County Children's Policy Council was awarded a $750,000 grant by the state to focus on drug use prevention. June Myers, grant manager for the unified prevention systems grant for Elmore County, is on the Children's Policy Council. Her group is working with the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control board to increase checks on vendors to make sure alcohol and tobacco products are not sold to minors. The money also will be spent on a drug prevention program for sixth-graders throughout the county. According to the Center for Demographic Research at Auburn University Montgomery, previous student surveys indicate Elmore County has the highest rate of teen drug and alcohol use in the tri-county area. The latest PRIDE results were sobering for Billy Womble, coordinator of parent involvement for Elmore County public schools. "(Suicide statistics) were a big, big concern of mine," she said. "Counselors are making sure we keep track of students and reported incidents. Our counselors are our first line of defense." Womble also noted the survey revealed students who are active in the community and school and have parents who are involved in their lives are less likely to do drugs. Benita Taylor, a parent of three kids in the system, has worked in Wetumpka junior high and the high school and agrees with the results of the survey. "It (school) has changed so much in 10 to12 years," Taylor said. "If I could afford it -- and I don't think private school is the answer to everything -- I would put my kids in private school. "It's scary. It's very scary," she said. "Children are nothing like they used to be. You can see it in class. Their behavior is so ... something is influencing them." Monica Harrison, counselor at Elmore County's alternative school, said the number of students she sees with suicidal thoughts has increased. She said teachers at the school find notes or see other ways students cry out for help. "Now they can see cutting is just as visible," she said. "Instead of screaming 'I need some help' they'll cut themselves. We do have babies that need lots and lots of help." - --- MAP posted-by: Matt Elrod