Monthly Message from City Manager Ken Striplin

The rate of teen overdose deaths in our country continues to rise. According to UCLA research, the rate doubled in 2020 and rose another 20% in the first half of 2021. With this frightening trend, the City continues to offer programs for teens and parents to help prevent drug abuse. The Drug Free Youth in Santa Clarita Valley program, or DFYinSCV program, works with elementary, junior high and high school students across Santa Clarita. This dynamic program invites local students to participate in entertaining and engaging monthly activities, join student-led club meetings and listen to a wide variety of speakers give informational presentations about substance abuse. Each year, DFYinSCV will visit numerous campuses from each school district to help spread its message about the dangers of drug use. Parents are encouraged to attend the annual Parent Resource Symposium which highlights a different, hard-hitting topic each year. For 2022, the theme is Chasing the High, focusing on the dangers of prescription pills. The event will be held at City Hall on Friday, September 23, beginning with a Resource Fair at 5:30 p.m. Free to attend, this event will teach parents what prescription pill abuse is doing to kids and strategies to help their children cope with the many pressures they face at school, in the media and online. Attendees will learn the warning signs of pill abuse and hear from experts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Juvenile Intervention Team and the Mental Evaluation Team. Please mark your calendars for this very important event. For more information on the Parent Resource Symposium and DFYinSCV, please visit www.santa-clarita.com. By being educated about the dangers of drug abuse and knowing what resources are available, we can help protect our children and keep our community safe.