North Shore Coalition Against Substance Abuse forms committees at inaugural meeting

Parents, students, school representatives and other residents of the North Shore Schools community recently gathered for the inaugural meeting of the North Shore Coalition Against Substance Abuse. They filled every seat at North Shore High School’s library on April 26, eager to discuss strategies to combat alcohol and drug abuse in their neighborhoods.

“This is going to be a challenge like we’ve never seen before, but we’re off to a terrific start,” said Joanna Commander, a North Shore Schools trustee who is running for re-election, and a liaison for CASA.

Four committees, each representing a district demographic — school, community, youth and parents — were established at the meeting. Each discussed project ideas. And CASA created a board of directors, choosing representatives of each of the new committees.

“The directors will meet regularly with chairpersons from each group, along with Joanna, to bring together all of the community work,” North Shore Superintendent Dr. Ed Melnick explained. “This is part of a cohesive effort to prepare and present plans of action throughout the community.”

The members of the parent committee will investigate drug and alcohol abuse programs and the laws. They will research what other communities are doing to address the issue, and the best ways to disseminate information to raise awareness. The parents also suggested creating an anonymous hotline to encourage youths to seek help.

The community committee discussed ways in which all of the committees could work cohesively, to keep everyone on the same page. The members of the school committee agreed that this was important.

The youth committee suggested that students be taught about drug and alcohol abuse as early as elementary and middle school. “We need to make parents and children aware of this right away,” said Matt Zapken, a senior at the high school. “Children need to know what they can do to combat these issues.”

Zapken, 17, said he had always advocated for a drug-free community, and that CASA must “go all out” to eliminate substance abuse locally. He added that schools should have presentations on the effects of drug use similar to those that illustrate the effects of smoking. “We need to put fear into younger children on all of this,” Zapken said.

Marty Glennon, a member of the North Shore Schools Legislation Action Committee who helped to form CASA, commended Commander for going “above and beyond” to develop CASA. “I have met with Joanna several times over the process, and she has always taken this matter seriously,” Glennon said. “She met with many professionals and community groups to have a better basis to build upon when we started this, so everyone should acknowledge the work she’s done.”

Melnick said that while the purpose of this organization is multifaceted, it must focus on one key issue. “We’ve lost too many young people in this community,” he said. “I think it’s too important that this issue doesn’t get buried under the rug. It’s also important to know that this isn’t a North Shore problem or a Nassau County problem. This is a national problem at this point.”