Educating teens about poor choices

Educating teens about poor choices Sudbury’s hospital launches program to prevent trauma in youth related to alcohol and other risks. Lyndsay Moggy reports.

For most teens, the word party means having a good time, but for Health Sciences North in Sudbury, party is an acronym for an important program that has been running for over a decade, a program that almost had to fold.

PARTY, in this case, stands for Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth.

It’s a program that was introduced back in 2004 to provide information to high school students about the serious consequences of risky behaviour, particularly alcohol abuse.

Dr. Jason Prpic is the Regional Medical Director of Health Sciences North.

"Approximately 20% of our traumas have alcohol related to them, which is a high percentage. And we’re hoping to avoid some of that by teaching the youth about drinking and driving or at-risk behavior." said Dr. Prpic.

This week, students from Macdonald-Cartier High School were able to witness a demonstration of a real-life trauma situation.

During the scenario, a man had injuries from falling off a motorcycle with no helmet.

The look on the student’s faces showed the simulation made an impact.

Kendra Roy is a grade 12 student that attended the demonstration.

"It was kind of scary a little bit and little bit, like it wasn't traumatizing, but I'd say it was very eye opening to see that. Like the effects of a motor collision accident, and see how like the aftermath and everything, it’s kind of really eye opening." said Roy.

Gabriel Marceau is also a grade 12 student that was at the demonstration.

"I think it's a pretty good idea, because a lot of people, not everyone of course, some people just know this as just a matter of fact. But it is a good idea just to tell people the kinds of things that can put you in danger and how to avoid them. The kinds of things that can happen if you take specific risks." said Marceau.

The program gets to continue running thanks to some local partners stepping up with funding.

Sudbury Credit Union and the Greater Sudbury Police Service contributed a total of $5,000.

Along with the demonstration, students also heard first-hand accounts of trauma from front-line health care workers, emergency responders, trauma survivors and families of victims.

They all tell stories about the consequences, both immediate and long-term, that risky behaviour can have.