Drug Free Coaltion working to prevent drug use for South Lake Tahoe youth

The South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition (STDFC) was formed in 2012 by Tahoe Youth and Family Services in collaboration with key community partners. Some of these community partners include the South Tahoe Police Department, El Dorado County Public Health, and Lake Tahoe Unified School District.

Together, the STDFC aims to create lasting, community-wide change in South Lake Tahoe by working to change the behaviors, attitudes, and overall culture around drug use amongst the community. The STDFC has formed a variety of working groups to highlight specific needs such as prevention education, program implementation, and collaboration. A recent addition to the STDFC is the Youth Advisory Council, which brings youth perspective to the efforts of examining and combating the massive epidemic of drug use in South Lake Tahoe.

Currently, one of the major target groups for the STDFC is middle and high school aged youth. The Youth Advisory Council is in the process of creating campaigns of fact vs. fiction in regards to cigarettes, marijuana, prescription, and other drugs amongst their peers. They are also bringing a critical program, Breaking Down the Walls, to the middle school next fall to educate teens on the effects of drug use. At both the middle and high schools, drugs have become easily accessible and overly consumed. This is a problem that demands consistent and significant attention in order to avoid longer lasting influences on our future generation.

Drugs have become a primary coping mechanism to the stressors of life for teens. Schools have seen increases in anxiety and/or depression with stresses from school and social lives. In addition to drugs, teens have been practicing self-harm at a much higher rate than seen before.

“Teens are overwhelmingly coping in negative ways," said Hannah Greenstreet, Leader of the South Tahoe Youth Commission. "The access to drugs seems to be getting easier and it is becoming more socially acceptable to engage in drug use. This is a prominent issue being illuminated from youth on a consistent basis.”

The South Tahoe Youth Commission is working in collaboration with the Youth Advisory Council to be proactive about addressing substance use and putting measures into place to make this a community-wide effort.

For more information about the work of the South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition or join a working group, please contact the Drug Free Coalition Coordinator, Melody Easton, at Tahoe Youth and Family Services at 530-541-2445.