COURAGE TO SPEAK FOUNDATION LAUNCHES FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER
Targeting Substance Abuse and Parent-Child Communication with Knowledge
OPEN HOUSE
The Courage to Speak Foundation will dedicate its new Family Resource Center and hold an Open House on September 21, 2012 at 8:45 a.m. in its headquarters at 71 East Avenue, Suite M, 2nd Floor in Norwalk, CT.
The new center will provide information on substance abuse and prevention to educate parents, teachers, and children. Among those attending the dedication are: Norwalk Mayor Richard A. Moccia, Norwalk Chief of Police Thomas Kulhawik, and Interim School Superintendent Tony Daddona, and the Courage to Speak Foundation board of directors.
The Courage to Speak Foundation Family Resource Center will contain educational brochures, pamphlets, books, literature, and DVDs, and include a lending library and a children’s activity area.
Resource materials will be available in English and Spanish, thus addressing the needs of the Spanish speaking population. The Resource Center is conveniently located a few short blocks from Norwalk City Hall with ample parking and is on the city bus route. The Center will reinforce and enhance the long time mission of the foundation: saving lives by empowering youth to be drug free and encouraging parents to communicate effectively with their children about the dangers of drugs.
Ginger Katz, founder & CEO of the Courage to Speak Foundation, said: “All of us are excited about the opportunity to bring a substance abuse prevention resource center to Fairfield County. The center will help parents and children deal with issues of teen smoking, consumption of alcohol and other drugs, and misuse or abuse of prescription drugs. Materials gathered from a variety of sources will offer children and parents a shared understanding and a means to initiate and sustain informed communication on these difficult and often life-threatening issues.”
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University in 2011 declared that teen smoking, alcohol consumption, use of illegal drugs, and misuse of prescription drugs remains a number one health problem nationwide, described as “an epidemic.” Children who learn about risks associated with smoking and other substance abuse issues from their parents are 50% less likely to use or abuse. And yet most parents don’t know how to talk to their children about substance abuse, or don’t have enough information themselves to do so well. The Courage to Speak Family Resource Center will help address the lack of information and knowledge while encouraging more effective parent-child communication.
The dedication of the Family Resource Center on Friday, September 21st at 8:45 a.m. at 71 East Avenue, Suite M, 2nd Floor in Norwalk is open to the public.
Hours for the Family Resource Center are Monday through Friday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. For information, please call 203-831-9700 or 877-431-3295.
About The Courage to Speak Foundation
The Courage to Speak Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in Norwalk, CT dedicated to Saving Lives by Empowering Youth to be Drug Free through Fostering Education and Encouraging Parents to Communicate Effectively with their Children About the Dangers of Drugs.
Ginger Katz founded the organization in 1996, just months after her 20 year old son, Ian James Eaccarino, died of an accidental drug overdose. She and her husband, Larry Katz, pledged that they would do all they could to help prevent such a tragedy from befalling another family. Since then, Ginger personally has delivered nearly 1000 presentations reaching hundreds of thousands of individuals nationwide, including young people and adults who care about them. The Courage to Speak Foundation offers drug prevention curricula for elementary, middle and high school students along with its Courage to Speak - Courageous Parenting 101® course for parents.
