Dr. Scott E. Lukas of McLean Hospital speaks at the Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth’s “Current Trends in Substance Abuse” seminar. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
WAKEFIELD — Executive Director Margie Daniels and Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) are pleased to share that MPY recently hosted a professional development training to address substance use among young people and prevention strategies.
The in-person seminar, “Current Trends in Substance Abuse,” was held on Jan. 13 at Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School in New Bedford.
The seminar informed participants of how substances including alcohol, nicotine, marijuana, cocaine and fentanyl affect today’s youth. Experts discussed how the landscape is increasingly complex due to the evolving patterns of use, new potentially dangerous habits like vaping, and the emergence of highly potent synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and related substances.
The seminar also highlighted current substance use trends and underscored the critical role of prevention. Sustaining strong prevention messages, and ensuring open conversations, particularly with students, remains essential to protecting youth health and safety.
“This training helped educate us on current substance use trends while deepening our understanding of adolescent brain development and why early exposure can have lasting consequences,” said Maynard Public Schools special education Teacher Jan Ward.
Presenters included Scott E. Lukas, PhD, the Director of the McLean Imaging Center, the Behavioral Psychopharmacology Research Laboratory, and the McLean Sleep Diagnostic and Treatment Laboratory, and a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School, and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Community Outreach Specialist Brian O’Keefe, MSCJA.
The presenters shared knowledge from O’Keefe’s nearly 30 years of law enforcement and nonprofit sector experience and Dr. Lukas’ extensive scientific research to explain the current landscape of drug usage.
“The presenters were incredibly knowledgeable and brought the topic to life through meaningful anecdotes and engaging interactive discussions that really resonated,” said Dawn Blais, a school psychologist from the Attleboro Public Schools.
“The information is invaluable to take back to my district, parents and students,” said Sturgis Charter Public Schools Special Education Director Susan Voigt.
This in-person seminar will be held again on April 14 at Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg. Click here for more information.
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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U.S. DEA Community Outreach Specialist Brian O’Keefe discusses substance use among young people. (Photo Courtesy Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth)
