Hatboro-Horsham School District parents, students and community members are invited to join the conversation about how to combat drug and alcohol abuse during a public event held at the Horsham Township Community Center located behind the Horsham Township Building at 1025 Horsham Road. Light refreshments will be served.
The event is part of the school district’s “Be a Part of the Conversation” initiative, which launched last May and is meant to get families talking about substance abuse. The Oct. 11 event will feature a presentation by Dr. Ken Thompson, a doctor who has worked in addiction medicine since going through his own recovery process 22 years ago. His program will be followed by facilitated roundtable discussions on specific topics related to drug and alcohol use in the community.
Dr. Thompson has participated in the interventions, assessment, treatment and/or monitoring of more than 18,000 addiction-related patients in his position as medical director for the Caron Foundation, a non-profit provider of drug and alcohol addiction treatment headquartered in Wernersville, PA. During his Oct. 11 presentation, he will provide clarification on how addiction develops and the differences between people who can and cannot stop on their own. He will address risk factors for addiction, the significance of genetics and the environment, and how a rational brain can be hijacked once it is engaged in active addiction.
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Following his presentation, participants will be broken up into groups of eight to 10 people led by trained local facilitators to discuss issues related to drug and alcohol abuse. The facilitators will summarize what each group talks about and present findings to the larger group.
“The idea is to take what we learn in these discussion groups and use some of that to drive us toward our goal of helping students to make healthier choices,” said John Nodecker, Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education and a task force member for “Be a Part of the Conversation.” “The more we talk about these issues and address them openly and honestly, the closer we will come to identifying what leads certain people to abuse drugs or alcohol, and what we can do to prevent that abuse.”
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About the speaker:
Dr. Thompson oversees detoxification and addiction medicine at Caron, and is an expert in the treatment of impaired professionals and also has expertise in dual diagnosis and chronic pain issues. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and has been certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine since 1990. In 2003, Dr. Thompson was selected as a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), an honor granted to select ASAM physician members for their significant contributions to the society and to the field of addiction medicine.
About “Be a Part of the Conversation”:
“Be a Part of the Conversation” is a drug and alcohol awareness initiative that began in the Hatboro-Horsham School District in May 2011. The mission of this initiative is to work collaboratively with the community to create effective, culture-changing programs that are designed to heighten awareness of the effects of drug and alcohol use, abuse and addiction while also supporting students in their efforts to develop healthy choices and reject drugs and alcohol. For more information, please visit www.hatboro-horsham.org/conversation.
