1) Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died with a needle in his arm and a myriad of prescription drugs in his system. According to Dr. Drew Pinsky, more people will die from opioids in the next 30 days than were killed in the attack of 9/11. He said, “Pills get [addiction] going, and heroin finishes [life]. To kick pain medicine addiction, a person needs six months treatment under close supervision. Afterwards, a person needs to manage his/her sobriety daily. We see a rise in heroin use for obvious reasons: You need a prescription to get opioids and, with that, there’s a medical record; you don’t need permission to purchase heroin, and there’s no permanent record. Heroin costs less. The heroin found in Mr. Hoffman’s apartment was sold in bags marked with street names ‘Ace of Hearts’ and ‘Ace of Spades’ facilitating a police investigation.

2) Please come to our next Teen Trials & Tribulations talk on “Bullying Prevention in the Glendale Unified School District” on Thursday, Feb. 13 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in CV High School library, 2900 Community Ave. in La Crescenta. Speakers include Scott Anderle, Ed.D, assistant director student support services and Cynthia Livingston, Rosemont Middle School principal. Rosemont was a pilot school for the district’s Olweus anti-bullying program.

3) The youth sector of the CV Alliance is growing stronger every week. We are up to 32 youth who are actively involved in making a difference in the Crescenta Valley. After numerous meetings with these 32 local kids from Clark Magnet and Crescenta Valley high schools, they voiced a very united theme. The youth want to create a culture where teens are empowered to speak. The youth want more positive messages of promoting healthier lifestyles. The youth want more productive activities and constructive places to meet and hang out in the Crescenta Valley.

These youth are organizing these activities and welcome other teens to join them in this quest. High school aged kids: Join the CV Youth Alliance on Thursday, Feb. 27 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. for a blacklight bowling party at Montrose Bowling Alley, 2334 Honolulu Ave.  The price is a donation of $3 in advance or $5 at the door, with proceeds going to our youth alliances quest for healthier lifestyles and positive fun. Join the CV Youth Alliance for bowling, food, fun and conversation with other teens about how you can make a difference. Join the movement to promote a culture of empowerment, inclusiveness and positive thinking for the teens of the Crescenta Valley.

If any restaurants or other adults can help with donations to make this drug-free and positive event better for the kids, or for more information, please email youth@cv-alliance.org.

Suzy Jacobs, Executive Director,
CV Alliance
3131 Foothill Blvd. Suite D
La Crescenta, CA 91214
(818) 646-7867  http://cv-alliance.org/