On Monday October 5, Chris Herren, former professional basketball player, author, and wellness advocate, spoke to the Pelham community about how to support our youth in making healthy and safe choices. Herren, who has dedicated his life to substance abuse prevention education, has impacted millions through his 2019 documentary The First Day, and his travels to schools and professional sports teams around the country. This event, hosted by Pelham Together in partnership with Pelham Memorial High School, and funded by the Pelham Education Foundation, was an incredible opportunity to hear from Herren in person and engage in a Q&A and discussion about Pelham’s specific challenges. Attended by parents, coaches, school administrators, and community leaders, the event took place at The Picture House the evening prior to a school-wide assembly with Herren for all Pelham high school students.

In her introductory remarks, Laura Caruso, Executive Director of Pelham Together, mentioned that though youth substance use is certainly not unique to Pelham, we know from recent data that binge drinking occurs at rates higher than in the region and the nation, and that Pelham kids drink alcohol and use substances like marijuana to relieve stress and socialize. “The information and perspective Mr. Herren shares with us tonight is meant to help you guide conversations about substance use and wellness within your own family,” said Caruso.  

Two Pelham students, Emma Van Praagh and Cristina Steffanizi, juniors at PMHS, welcomed the audience and described a student-led awareness campaign called PROUD (Pelham Resists Underage Drinking), which promotes positive decision-making and prevention surrounding underage drinking and substance abuse. They also encouraged adults to talk with their kids about the stress of being a teenager, and encouraged their fellow teens to embrace being role models for their younger peers. 

Using the story of his own life and personal struggle with addiction and recovery, Herren’s powerful message focused on the first day, not the worst day, of addiction. He challenged the audience to rethink addiction and address how the disease begins rather than how it ends.

 He asked us to stop using the term “rock bottom” because it discourages early intervention and stigmatizes addiction. “Why is the face of addiction always a homeless person? Why not the struggling student-athlete or teacher, the family member or colleague?”

 Herren shared how despite his incredible confidence on the basketball court in high school, he still lacked the self-esteem to hang out after 10 pm with kids he’d known for years without drinking. “It’s sad that no coach or teacher ever came up to me to ask, why do you need to change yourself to feel comfortable around your friends?”

 “We support and challenge our kids academically and on the athletic field, yet we leave the social and emotional health up to them…As a community, I challenge you to [focus on wellness].”

 Herren encouraged us as a community to play a role in preventing addiction through early and regular communication with our children and by fostering a sense that we all (adults and youth alike) need to look out for one another. And he asked us to “stop forcing the narrative that ages 14 through 17 are the best years of your life…High school is really hard, and most parents don’t have the courage to look at our kids and acknowledge that.” 

 During the Q&A, Herren, who is the father of three kids in college and middle school, discussed his own parenting philosophy. He doesn’t believe in punishing kids for using substances. “Taking things away from our kids – or focusing on who they were with or where they got the beer – when we do that, we’re avoiding the root of the issue and missing out on what could be a meaningful conversation. Instead, we should talk about the WHY.”

 Regarding his opinion on the legalization of marijuana, Herren shared how he recently spoke at a school in Montana where five students were hospitalized after using marijuana laced with fentanyl. “Substances are a lot stronger and more addictive than when I was in high school…” He is particularly concerned about the recent rise in teens misdiagnosed with mental illness including schizophrenia when they are suffering from marijuana-induced psychosis. “Challenge your child to get to 21 or 22, till their brains are developed, before they use alcohol and marijuana.”

 When asked how our community should grapple with the differing opinions on youth “just experimenting” with alcohol, Herren replied that “it’s tragic if we just accept that our kids are going to get wasted in the woods.” And he continued, “I wish that my parents, and my friends’ parents, did not look the other way when we were drinking in the basement.” He believes that a permissive attitude towards underage drinking, while often coupled with well-intentioned efforts to keep teens safe, is more harmful than not and fuels teenage binge drinking. 

 Herren believes that we should set clear expectations for our kids, build up their confidence, be present in their lives, and take a deeper look at the struggles they face today. Together as a community, we should focus on the reasons why our young people turn to substances in the first place. “Prevention starts on the first day.”

 In addition to bringing Chris Herren to Pelham to spark conversation around youth substance use prevention, Pelham Together supports youth mental health and wellness through a variety of programs and resources. Click here to learn more and to get involved.