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On Saturday, March 5, Unison Behavioral Health Group joined forces with students from Cardinal Stritch High School to offer “sober contracts” for area teens to sign during the Junior League of Toledo’s “Formal-ly Yours” event.
Nearly 100 teens signed contracts during the event, which was held in the food court of the Westfield Franklin Park Mall.
The Cardinal Stritch students are members of Lucas County’s only Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) chapter.
What is a sober contract?
According to Dr. Larry Hamme, chief clinical officer for Unison, the document formalizes a teen’s commitment to stay away from drugs and alcohol during the upcoming prom and graduation season.
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Students from Cardinal Stritch High School's S.A.D.D. participated in
Unison's recent sober contract event.
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“Kids think they are invincible,” Dr. Hamme said. “But all it takes is one bad decision to destroy a teen’s life.” The sober contract was developed by students from SADD, many of whom were at the Westfield Franklin Park Mall on Saturday to encourage other Lucas County teens to take the pledge.
The contract signing was part of Unison’s Spring Prom and Graduation prevention campaign and is funded by The Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas County. The prevention campaign, “Live to Celebrate Another Day,” is designed to increase awareness of alcohol and drug use, misuse and abuse during the 2011 prom and graduation season. It will target Lucas County teens and their parents.
One third of alcohol-related traffic fatalities involving teens occur during the prom and graduation months of April, May and June.
During the course of the campaign, Unison will also involve parents of Lucas County teens by making a parent pledge available as well.
“Parents may not realize it but research has shown that 65 percent of 10 to 18-year-olds cite parents as the leading influence for their abstinence from alcohol use,” Dr. Hamme said.
He added that by signing the sober contract, Lucas County parents pledge to do everything in their power to communicate with their children about the many difficult and potentially destructive decisions they face.
Both teen and parent sober contracts are available for download on the Unison website at www.unisonbhg.org (click on the “Live to Celebrate Another Day” link).
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