St. Joesph parish hosted the kick off for Dubois County CARES, a local coalition for adolescent resilience and empowerment strategies. Members of the coalition along with community supporters gathered as J.P. Morgan-Siebe, the days guest speaker, shared experiences from her youth stemming from alcohol and drug use.
Morgan-Siebe a graduate of the University of Southern Indiana with a Master of Social Work and a current PhD student at the University of Louisville has previously worked as a substance abuse counselor and psychiatric social worker. Siebe focused on statistics from the 2017 Indiana Youth Institute Survey for the Southwest Region which includes Dubois County.
While she focused on the district as a whole including 15 counties, IYI statistics for Dubois County stated that 33% of high school seniors and 27% of juniors in the county have reported using alcohol in the last 30 days.
Siebe says with the continuous stream of information on the unhealthy side effects of underage drinking, it’s never to late to change your way of thinking.
Why should teens stay away from alcohol? Morgan-Siebe says they are still growing children and that includes their brain functions.
Paige Mundy, a CARES Coalition Chair and a Northeast Dubois School Corporation social worker, is looking forward to what Dubois County CARES can accomplish in the community with the information presented at the days event.
Dubois County CARES has recently been awarded a Federal Drug Free Communities Grant with TRI-CAP as their fiscal agent and community support organization.
To reach out in support to Dubois County CARES please visit their website at duboiscountycares.org or visit their offices located at TRI-CAP in Jasper.
