On a recent Thursday afternoon, the whiteboard of the Youth Overcoming Drug Abuse program headquarters on Charlotte Avenue is adorned with wisdom from the program’s participants. Among the whiteboard’s sentiments: “You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect a different result.”
The YODA program, as it’s often called, is a subset of STARS, an organization dedicated to providing mental health support to young people. “The rate at which drug use is impacting our young ones is unbelievable,” YODA’s primary counselor, Folusho Micah, tells the Scene.
Drug abuse is of course nothing new among teens, but the issue has been exacerbated by an increased availability of illicit substances. Illegally manufactured and distributed pills and other drugs are being advertised and sold to young people through avenues like social media. Some of these drugs, however, can be laced with other dangerous substances, oftentimes unbeknownst to young buyers, that could have serious health and safety implications.
A December report from the Centers for Disease Control states that “although illicit drug use declined overall among surveyed middle and high school students during 2019-2020 … widespread availability of illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs), proliferation of counterfeit pills resembling prescription drugs but containing IMFs or other illicit drugs, and ease of purchasing pills through social media have increased fatal overdose risk among adolescents.” According to a report issued by The New England Journal of Medicine in May, drug overdose and poisoning is the third-leading cause of deaths in adolescents, behind firearm-related deaths and motor vehicle crashes. According to a 2021 report from the Tennessee Department of Health, 21 Tennesseans under the age of 18 died from overdose in 2021, along with 231 people ranging from ages 18 to 24; both age ranges show an increase in drug-related deaths from previous years.
The increased presence of fentanyl — a highly addictive synthetic opioid that can be lethal in very small doses — is a particularly concerning aspect of the national opioid crisis that’s leading to overdoses in people of all ages. Recent legislative changes and statewide programming have made more resources available, including increased access to naloxone. Naloxone, often referred to as a brand name Narcan, is a drug that can counteract opioid overdoses. A spokesperson confirms that Metro Nashville Public Schools’ nurses and school resource officers are supplied naloxone and trained to administer it.
Other related resources are available to adolescents and their parents both in and out of the school system, from educational information to targeted mental-health-based programming and treatment. Messaging surrounding substance use has also significantly changed from what older generations might be used to. While anti-drug campaigns have historically relied on fear-based tactics, information like research produced by the state and Vanderbilt University shows that this approach isn’t effective in preventing substance use, and can backfire. Instead, organizations like STARS and MNPS are working to educate young people on the physiological effects of drugs so they can make informed decisions.
“Scare tactics do not work — they stopped working a long time ago,” says Stephanie Davis of MNPS’ student support services. “It’s about changing the mindset. And one way you change the mindset is you provide education that they can absorb, that they can understand and that they can apply. And so that’s what we do, we provide the education that they can understand and apply so that they can make a better decision.”
Davis says MNPS leans on its staff, counselors, social workers and community partners to provide that kind of education through avenues like one-on-one counseling and mental health awareness days. The district’s community resource guide also lists several organizations that can provide mental health support, education and intervention — oftentimes at no cost. Additionally, there are local and statewide organizations dedicated to addressing drug use and recovery across all age groups. A state Collegiate Recovery Initiative, for example, trains and informs college campuses about addiction and how to address it.
Parents and caretakers also have a role to play. For those who aren’t sure how to talk about drugs with their children, the national Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a “Talk. They Hear You” campaign that equips adults with tools for discussing these matters. Micah tells the Scene that parents should look out for warning signs that indicate drug use such as extreme behavioral changes, dramatic shifts in attitudes and sleeping patterns, and reclusive behavior. He also notes that parents shouldn’t assume that their kids aren’t interested in drugs.
“This is not just a school approach,” says Davis. “This is not just a school issue. This is a community, neighborhood, faith-based, city, state [matter]. It has to be a collaboration with everyone involved, to address it, and to resolve some of the issues. It can’t just be one entity trying to make sure that we have viable resources that are available to our parents and students.”
