Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth Executive Director Margie Daniels, center, with Dr. Scott E. Lukas, left, and Brian O’Keefe. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
WAKEFIELD — Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) hosted an in-person seminar, “Current Trends in Substance Abuse,” on April 14 at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical High School in Fitchburg, bringing together 70 participants from 42 school districts and partner organizations.
The training provided educators, prevention specialists and public safety professionals with current, research-based information on youth substance use trends, including alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl. Presenters also addressed the growing impact of vaping, synthetic opioids and other evolving methods of drug use among adolescents.
Dr. Scott E. Lukas, Director of the McLean Imaging Center at McLean Hospital and Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, opened his remarks by emphasizing the importance of connecting research to those working directly with youth.
“I am so proud to be part of the MPY prevention program and appreciate the opportunity to directly reach out to the individuals who are on the front lines of managing our youth’s challenges with drug abuse and mental illness,” said Dr. Lukas.
The seminar also featured Brian O’Keefe, MSCJA, Community Outreach Specialist for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
O’Keefe drew on nearly three decades of law enforcement and community outreach experience, including his prior leadership with the Manchester Police Department and his current work supporting national prevention initiatives through the DEA.
O’Keefe highlighted the importance of coordinated prevention strategies, cross-sector partnerships and sustained community education efforts to address substance use among young people.
About the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides training, fosters collaboration and develops programming to increase the health and safety of students. MPY is committed to bringing cutting-edge information and high-quality trainings to constituents and endeavors to provide solution-oriented, community-based, multi-disciplinary approaches to reducing and ideally eliminating risky behaviors for youth. MPY programming reaches nearly 6,000 educators per year in Massachusetts, spread across approximately 300 districts, with more than 190 webinars and over a dozen conferences and seminars.
Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth is governed by a Board of Directors made up of school superintendents, police and fire chiefs, and other community leaders who work closely with MPY staff to deliver this mission. To learn more, visit: massachusettspartnershipsforyouth.com.
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