SCHWENKSVILLE PA – The stronger teens are, both physically and mentally, the more likely they may be to avoid drug use, experts say. That’s the motivation behind a new teen wellness education series scheduled during May and June at the Perkiomen Valley Library, 290 Second St.
Attendance is free, and open to those age 11 and older. The sessions – on May 8, 15, 22, and 29, and June 5 and 12 (all Wednesdays) – will include running, yoga, meditation, and weightlifting. Leading them are Jerry Walker of Eazy Fitness, yoga instructor Laura Walter, and educator and coach David Pope. A final meeting is set for June 13 Thursday.
Registration is required, and is available now online or by calling the library at 610-287-8360. The library website states its operating hours as Mondays and Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursdays from noon to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The library is closed Sundays.
Skills needed for healthy living
The Montgomery County Department of Health & Human Services’ Office of Drug & Alcohol is sponsoring the events. The six weekly sessions are described as “transformative,” and “designed to strengthen not only physical health but also mental resilience.” They provide “a strong focus on understanding and preventing the lure of drug use,” as well as other “skills needed for healthy living.”
“We are so excited to provide our local youth with essential life skills that include managing stress through fitness and meditation,” Walter said in a media release. The team’s “aim is to help teens build a foundation of mental and physical health that guard against substance abuse,” she added.
Making the series different from earlier programs, organizers report, is its “unique blend of physical activities and educational discussions on addiction prevention.”
There’s been a “dramatic rise in overdose deaths among teens” since 2010, according to a December 2023 media release from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a unit of the National Institutes of Health. The “increase is largely attributed to illicit fentanyl, a potent synthetic drug, contaminating the supply of counterfeit pills made to resemble prescription medications,” it said.
The result, it added, is that drug use among young people “is becoming more dangerous.”
Photo by Travels With The Post
Local Schools to Get Safety, Mental Health Grant Money