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Show Task Forces positive appro&dh a gateway into an unseen world; S,Hott up. up and away, i i below the world. :,i Jowly take over your mind, &Zr your person, 0 over your hje, I W become a robot. I by your dealers and people with drugs ,nrl W wonder why everything is so wrong; ' . take drugs to deal with life's pain. "flL a slow' torture, PSJ o xour mind with all its powerfulness; ;r' !lm? you et"p'y- v ifflV t0 be f"11 a8ai" IS tof yo"r '"'ml wi,h iiruSs: 1 are a slow suicide, ii don't realize that until you are dead. By GARY R. BLODGETT Clipper News Editor FARMINGTON -- Looking at the positive approach was the theme of the Davis County Task Force for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Among Teenagers. DEALING with aftercare of chemically dependent teenagers, it was emphasized that without aftercare, 95 percent of all drug and alcohol users will return to the habit. Jan Bullock, a member of the aftercare subcommittee, noted that there are 13,000 adolescents in Utah with an acute illness of drug or alcohol dependency but with facilities facili-ties to treat only 250 at one time. THERE ARE no hospital facilities for aftercare in Davis County, but a segment of the Lakeview Hospital's rehabi litation center now being used for adults only will be opened to adolescents "within the next few months." Another medical care center is being constructed between be-tween 500 West and Interstate Highway 15 in Woods Cross that will accommodate 16 chemically dependent patients. The facility will have a total of 56 beds, most of which will be used to treat emotionally disturbed patients. COMMITTEE speakers highlighted the need for peer counseling and for patient involvement before the disease becomes acute. An All-Teen Alcohol Council (ATAC) as well as other teen clubs and organizations are actively combating drug and alcohol abuse among adolescents. REFERRING to ATAC, it was explained that there are Continued on page two Task Force: positive approach Health Departments. g AUSTIN Childs, of Davis County Mental Health, said drug and alcohol use is heavy in junior and senior high schools and is seeping into the lower classes. "There is no type of abuser among adolescents," he ! stressed. "Some are very intelligent and all are complex y kids w ith complex feelings. Drug abuse and alcoholism are ji treatable diseases that originate among adolescents re- ' gardless of religious, school or social background." : : THE THING they need most is to rebuild their self-esteem, self-esteem, he told the council. i Continued from page one three goals: (1) make abusers aware of their problems; (2) try to change their attitude about drinking; and (3) members mem-bers should play a positive role while dealing with peers who have a drinking problem. The council uses a very subtle approach but contends that most other teenagers rally behind them. "We do not treat those with a (drinking) problem, but we do refer them for professional help," one speaker noted. "MOST OF them want to be helped. It's a pilot program that is proving to be very successful." Mary Hughes, representing PLRC - Parent Fducation Resource Centers -- said there are a variety of programs and numerous materials, tapes and videos for parents of chemically dependent children. Most of the materials arc kept in school libraries throughout the county and may be checked out only by adults. MUCH OF the literature is geared to helping parents better understand drug and alcohol problems and to assist parents in finding treatment facilities for adolescents who have become addicts. She emphasized that most of the programs operate within with-in the Davis School District or Davis Health and Mental |