{"id":2444364,"date":"2019-05-18T21:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=306127"},"modified":"2019-05-18T21:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-19T03:00:00","slug":"aspen-forum-to-put-spotlight-on-helping-teens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/aspen-forum-to-put-spotlight-on-helping-teens\/","title":{"rendered":"Aspen forum to put spotlight on helping teens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic of teen health takes center stage at a forum Monday that comes in the aftermath of a string of traumatic episodes involving youth in the Aspen area.<\/p>\n

Organized by Jillian Livingston, \u201cHelping Our Teens Through Family and Community\u201d is set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Aspen District Theatre, where an array of speakers will address issues ranging from anxiety and depression to substance abuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s addiction to cellphones or whether parents see their kids having a lot of anxiety, I want to let the valley know what is available to all of us and who to go to for what,\u201d said Livingston, founder of Aspen Connect, which puts on numerous community-oriented forums. \u201cWe can start there and get directed to whether we need to go outside the valley or whether we can handle the issue within the valley.\u201d<\/p>\n

The forum will be split into two parts.<\/p>\n

The first will include parents and teens who will discuss bouts with their own addiction or a loved one\u2019s and how they addressed it, as well as health issues teens face today and how family members can detect and address them. The forum also will discuss the local resources available for help \u2014 whether it concerns addiction, suicide or other aspects of mental health.<\/p>\n

Livingston said the forum is open to individuals 13 years and older.<\/p>\n

Moderating the conversation, which will include recovering addicts as well as their relatives, will be Christina King, founder of the nonprofit mental-health organization Aspen Strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a great way to start the dialogue,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

The focus of the forum, however, won\u2019t be exclusively on addiction, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who have experienced real struggle, especially when it comes to addiction,\u201d King said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not just about addiction. It\u2019s a way to start the dialogue for people to become more aware about people with mental-health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the second conversation begins, Sonja Linman, the lead prevention specialist for the Roaring Fork School District, will give a presentation on why some youth are more prone to grappling with mental-health problems and substance abuse than others. Pitkin County Juvenile Investigator Bruce Benjamin also will discuss the legalities of substance use for teens as well as adults who contribute to the delinquency of minors.<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s world, Linman said, youth are constantly under assault from temptations ranging from cellphones to mind-altering substances \u2014 risk factors they believe help them \u201cregulate\u201d themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has just become this snowball that is all connected together to increase kids\u2019 vulnerability,\u201d she said, adding that if youth who are provided with the \u201cright tools\u201d develop better coping skills than those who don\u2019t have them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be through wellness, or kids playing sports, or communities that identify norms of wellness,\u201d she said. \u201cBut in general, what kids are left to do is discover their own regulating skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

Left alone to figure it out, that\u2019s what many do, Linman explained, noting that social media can glorify self-sabotage or self-destruction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt becomes the norm,\u201d she said, emphasizing a systematic approach toward placing and keeping youth on the right path, which involves what she calls the four pillars \u2014 kids, families, schools and community interaction.<\/p>\n

Linman\u2019s talk will segue to the second conversation, which will focus on how family and community can work together to support youth. Liz Means, executive director for A Way Out, will moderate the discussion.<\/p>\n

Guest speakers will include Dr. Sabrina A. Adams, who works in emergency medicine; Lance Nabers, development director of Aspen Mind Springs; Katherine Sand, director of Aspen Family Connections; Linman; counselor Dr. Craig Farnum; and Pitkin County Deputy Cameron Daniel, who also is an addiction counselor.<\/p>\n

Livingston said she has been talking to numerous parents and youth in the community to get a better sense of what has led to a spate of unfortunate, as well as tragic, events involving valley youth.<\/p>\n

Those episodes have included the alleged drunken-driving crash in the Missouri Heights<\/a> area earlier this month that claimed the life of one Basalt teen and led to criminal charges against the driver, or the November crash on Maroon Creek Road that involved five Aspen-area teens, including the driver, Joseph Lipsey IV, 19. His parents, Shira and Joseph Lipsey III, also face criminal charge<\/a>s for allegedly providing cocaine and alcohol to underage high school students at the parents\u2019 house on occasion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ultimate goal is to help give tools to parents so that they can follow through on things that they are seeing with their children that concern them, and be mindful and present in their lives,\u201d Livingston said.<\/p>\n

rcarroll@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The topic of teen health takes center stage at a forum Monday that comes in the aftermath of a string of traumatic episodes involving youth in the Aspen area. Organized by Jillian Livingston, \u201cHelping Our Teens Through Family and Community\u201d is set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Aspen District Theatre, where an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2444364","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-18 11:22:56","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2444364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2444364\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2444364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2444364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2444364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}