SAUGUS — Parents, teachers, and residents can attend a meeting focused on youth risk behavior prevention Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Saugus Town Hall.
The meeting is aimed at identifying the ongoing challenges in addressing substance abuse and informing the community about available resources.
Key findings from the 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey will be discussed.
The survey was given nationally at schools and conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and was designed to enable public health professionals, teachers, policy makers, and researchers to describe the prevalence of health-risk behaviors among youth, assess trends in health-risk behaviors over time, and evaluate and improve health-related policies and programs.
The anonymous survey was taken by students at the Belmonte Middle School and Saugus High School in the spring of 2017. It assessed six categories, including behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; sexual behaviors that contribute to human immunodeficiency virus infection and other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; unhealthy dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity.
Attendees will not only see how Saugus’ data compares with previous town studies but also how it compares to the rest of the state and nation.
Greg Nickolas, youth and recreation director, will discuss the exponential challenges that all communities across the state are facing.
“This event is an opportunity for parents and educators to gain an in-depth understanding about the most pressing health concerns affecting our youth,” said Town Manager Scott Crabtree in a statement. “Having access to quantitative data is critically important, and will serve as a blueprint in determining the types of resources that our youth and families truly need.”
The town receives support to conduct the survey biannually through the Winnisimmet Regional Opioid Collaborative, a group formed in 2013 when Saugus, Revere, Chelsea, and Winthrop came together to apply for the Massachusetts Opioid Abuse Prevention Collaborative (MOAPC) grant. The group received the funding, which pays for local and regional strategies that address the opioid epidemic.
“The Youth Risk Behavior Survey assesses crucial behaviors that we as parents, leaders, and as a community need to be aware of and work together to minimize,” said Jeannie Meredith, chair of the School Committee. “I hope everyone will come out so that we can help our kids navigate these issues.”