Senator Golden Asks: “Are Your Kids Safe?” Organizes Town Hall on Teenage Drug Abuse and Bullying

Brooklyn – Responding to recent reports of area teenagers falling ill and dying from an overdose of drugs, specifically “Oxycotton” (Oxycontin), State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) will host an important town hall meeting regarding teenage drug use and school bullying on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at Dyker Heights Intermediate School located at 8010-12th Avenue in Brooklyn.

Senator Marty Golden stated, “As a father and a former police officer, I know all too well the struggles our parents face to keep our children safe and drug free. Prescription drug use and abuse is on the rise in New York State, and recently right here in Brooklyn, we have lost some of our neighborhood’s youth. The effects of oxycontin and party drugs are destroying families and we must be vigilant so to prevent losing anymore of our teenagers to drugs.”

Golden continued, “As social networking becomes more popular, cyber bullying has become prevalent among teens. Statistics show that about 80% of all high school students have encountered some form of bullying and further, and 25% are bullied on a regular basis. We must do something to reverse this trend and raising public awareness is a first step to prevention.”

Representatives from Lutheran Health Care, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Dynamic Youth Community, and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office will speak and answer questions related to the ill effects of drug use among our youth. There will also be experts discussing the horrifying reality that is bullying in our schools.

The panel of speakers include: Dr. Bradford Goff, Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health Sciences at Lutheran Medical Center, Rebecca Gallagher, LCSW, the Director of Lutheran Family Health Centers’ Project Reach Youth, William Fusco and Karen Carlini of the Dynamic Youth Community organization and Frank Laghezza, Special Counsel to Schools for the Kings County District Attorney’s Office.

A representative of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Prevention, Care and Treatment will attend. The Department of Education and the New York City Police Department have also been invited.

Parents, grandparents, teenagers and educators are encourage to attend. For more information on the meeting, contact Senator Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044 or visit his website at www.golden.nysenate.gov