Showing posts with label Seattle Parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle Parks. Show all posts
Friday, October 4, 2013
Another story about underage drinking in Seattle parks
Earlier this week, I blogged about underage drinking in the Arboretum. The Prevention WINS coalition recently completed a video about underage drinking at Golden Gardens and Magnuson Park. Yesterday, KING 5 broadcast a story about youth drug use and underage drinking in a West Seattle park.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Underage drinking in Seattle parks
Last week, the Garfield High School principal sent a message to parents that started like this:
Do you know where your son or daughter is at tonight? I spent the afternoon with Officer Radford and many other officers walking through the Arboretum. One hundred or more Garfield students were participating in hazing incidents, drinking hard alcohol and beer.
Underage drinking in our city's parks is not unique to the Arboretum and Garfield High School. As the video posted to the Prevention WINS website homepage illustrates, it is not unusual for large numbers of north end high school students to congregate at Golden Gardens and Magnuson Park and drink.
Since this incident is gaining quite a bit of media attention, I hope our community can emerge from it with a few lessons learned. One of them being that underage drinking is preventable.
Parents have a role to play
In his message to parents, the Garfield High School principal asks: As I email you tonight I asked the question do you know where your son or daughter is at? I ask that question because I want you to know that we all have a responsibility to keep our kids safe.
Knowing where your child is and with whom is one important step parents can take to prevent underage drinking. Setting consequences for not telling the truth about where they are is essential. Following up on consequences if rules are broken is equally important.
Community members have a role to play
When teens are drinking in pubic places, they are bound to be seen by adults. Community members should call 9-1-1 and report underage drinking and marijuana use. Adults shouldn't attempt to break up large teen gatherings where drinking and drug use is taking place, but calling police is important for breaking up parties and preventing future parties.
Local institutions have a role to play
Seattle Police can break up underage drinking parties in parks. Seattle policy makers and leaders can support police efforts by allocating funding for emphasis patrols in parks Friday and Saturday evenings. The juvenile justice system can make sure minors who are referred to them for minor in possession violations go to alcohol education or are referred to substance abuse treatment, if needed.
These are just a few examples of what can be done to prevent teen drug use. Underage drinking and drug use is a community problem and every community member has a role to play.
Do you know where your son or daughter is at tonight? I spent the afternoon with Officer Radford and many other officers walking through the Arboretum. One hundred or more Garfield students were participating in hazing incidents, drinking hard alcohol and beer.
Underage drinking in our city's parks is not unique to the Arboretum and Garfield High School. As the video posted to the Prevention WINS website homepage illustrates, it is not unusual for large numbers of north end high school students to congregate at Golden Gardens and Magnuson Park and drink.
Since this incident is gaining quite a bit of media attention, I hope our community can emerge from it with a few lessons learned. One of them being that underage drinking is preventable.
Parents have a role to play
In his message to parents, the Garfield High School principal asks: As I email you tonight I asked the question do you know where your son or daughter is at? I ask that question because I want you to know that we all have a responsibility to keep our kids safe.
Knowing where your child is and with whom is one important step parents can take to prevent underage drinking. Setting consequences for not telling the truth about where they are is essential. Following up on consequences if rules are broken is equally important.
Community members have a role to play
When teens are drinking in pubic places, they are bound to be seen by adults. Community members should call 9-1-1 and report underage drinking and marijuana use. Adults shouldn't attempt to break up large teen gatherings where drinking and drug use is taking place, but calling police is important for breaking up parties and preventing future parties.
Local institutions have a role to play
Seattle Police can break up underage drinking parties in parks. Seattle policy makers and leaders can support police efforts by allocating funding for emphasis patrols in parks Friday and Saturday evenings. The juvenile justice system can make sure minors who are referred to them for minor in possession violations go to alcohol education or are referred to substance abuse treatment, if needed.
These are just a few examples of what can be done to prevent teen drug use. Underage drinking and drug use is a community problem and every community member has a role to play.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
More about parties in neighborhood parks . . .
From a post on today's Laurelhurst Blog:
I wanted to let you know that the kids were partying at the play-field on 45th near Laurelhurst Elementary again tonight. The noise was exceptionally loud this evening and peaked around 10:30pm.
My neighbor called 911 and apparently there was already a noise complaint called in. They were sending a police officer out to the park.
As a neighborhood, what can we do to try and deter this behavior? It is so loud and has woken me up on more than one occasion.
This is posted a day after I was told about a recent drunk-driving accident near Golden Gardens that involved a neighborhood high school student.
I wanted to let you know that the kids were partying at the play-field on 45th near Laurelhurst Elementary again tonight. The noise was exceptionally loud this evening and peaked around 10:30pm.
My neighbor called 911 and apparently there was already a noise complaint called in. They were sending a police officer out to the park.
As a neighborhood, what can we do to try and deter this behavior? It is so loud and has woken me up on more than one occasion.
This is posted a day after I was told about a recent drunk-driving accident near Golden Gardens that involved a neighborhood high school student.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Youth drug use at Laurelhurst Park
A recent post to the Laurelhurst Blog describes the ongoing parties at Laurelhurst Park. Following is an excerpt:
We regularly smell cigarette and marijuana smoke coming from that direction and have seen kids (only boys although that doesn’t mean girls haven’t been there) running up there with backpacks on (often coming on bike or scooter and even out walking their dog in daylight). They tuck deep in the corner and have complete coverage.
Currently there are broken beer bottles, in-tact bottles as well as a strong smell of urine.
If people are missing their junior high boys, I suspect they’d find them here… I’d guess these kids are junior high or early high school.
On Friday, I posted information to this blog about underage drinking parties at Magnuson and Golden Gardens.
We regularly smell cigarette and marijuana smoke coming from that direction and have seen kids (only boys although that doesn’t mean girls haven’t been there) running up there with backpacks on (often coming on bike or scooter and even out walking their dog in daylight). They tuck deep in the corner and have complete coverage.
Currently there are broken beer bottles, in-tact bottles as well as a strong smell of urine.
If people are missing their junior high boys, I suspect they’d find them here… I’d guess these kids are junior high or early high school.
On Friday, I posted information to this blog about underage drinking parties at Magnuson and Golden Gardens.
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