ROANOKE – Roanoke school officials want to see more parents learning about drugs and what to look for if they believe their child may be using. They say the Heroin and Opioid Community Forums last year were not well attended.
The new, upcoming meetings are open to the community and include discussions of what to look for, resources that are available to help and more.
The Roanoke City Schools director of school counseling Taisha Steele says kids know a lot more than parents think they do, and the forums present parents with a chance to learn what their kids know. While they are not seeing much of anything with students and drugs in the schools, parents are a different story.
"We often hear about parents who have been using. There are, unfortunately, things that may be occurring that we may not be aware of where drug use may be the underlying issue. If anything comes up, we definitely have a straight line to the Department of Social Services," said Steele.
There will be speakers from Carilion, Virginia State Police and the Roanoke Prevention Alliance & Heroin Task Force.
The meetings are scheduled for January 25 at William Fleming High School and February 15 at Patrick Henry High School. Both start at 6:30 p.m.