Hills Valley Coalition Website:  www.hillsvalleycoalition.org

Mission Statement

"Our mission is to educate and inform the community-at-large about how to promote a healthy, safe and substance-free environment that encourages the development of a positive lifestyle for our youth and reduces at-risk teen behavior.

Prevention TIPS for Caring Parents:

1. Spell out the rules and be specific about consequences of breaking them. 2. Plan to have the talk, don’t spring the conversation on your teen to cause them to feel  abused or defensive. 3. Explain your reasons why you don’t want your child to drink or use drugs, and invite an  open conversation. 4. Obey the golden rule by speaking to your teen the way you’d like to be spoken to. 5. Let them speak and give your teens a chance to express concerns or  feelings. It is an opportunity to see if anything is troublesome to them. 6. Parents sometimes feel hypocritical hiding their own experiences,  what to say and what not to say. 7. Safety trumps everything, establish “conditional amnesty,”  so your teens know they can call and ask for help if in a high-risk  situation without repercussions.  8. Continue an ongoing conversation. Talking to your teen  about substance abuse should be a process, not a single event. 9. Early identification of a developing problem is the best defense  against your teen engaging in substance abuse and other high-risk behaviors.