PORT ANGELES — The problem may be major, but in the fourth meeting of the Port Angeles Citizen Action Network, aka PA CAN, the remarks were relentlessly positive.
Speaker after speaker — from Mary Budke of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula to Port Angeles School District Superintendent Marc Jackson — hailed this new group for its initiative, its projects and its turnout, all part of tackling drug abuse and addiction here.
To the 52 people gathered Wednesday night in The Landing mall conference room, Jackson said:
“I believe Port Angeles’ citizens have had enough of not doing anything” about drugs in their community.
“There’s an energy in this room. This is our town; these are our kids. We’ve had enough. It’s time to do something.”
PA CAN’s “somethings” are manifold. The network, led by Stevens Middle School teacher Angie Gooding, voted last month on its top three immediate priorities, then invited speakers to address them at Wednesday’s session.
Group’s priorities
The priorities chosen are involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs, supporting Oxford House and its programs for clean and sober living, and developing some type of drug education program in local schools.
First up were Ken Williams, Boys & Girls Clubs board president, and Budke, the clubs’ executive director.
Their message: Share your time with youngsters. The clubs have mentoring programs, Inspire Her and Boys to Men; they also welcome people who want to teach kids to knit, go out with the Running Club or help serve lunch during the summer.
“I guarantee you’ll walk away feeling more full than they are,” said Budke.
The Boys & Girls Clubs’ offices can be reached at 360-683-8095 and via www.bgc-op.org.
Oxford House
Next Brian Soiseth, a recovering drug addict who’s been clean nine months, spoke about his experience living at Oxford House, a Port Angeles group house for people who need to start anew.
He and his housemates on Pine Street “were given a second chance,” Soiseth said.
Though it has hundreds of locations all over the United States, Oxford needs to become better-known in communities like this one, he added.
The organization seeks five-bedroom or larger homes to house women, men and in some cases their children — and while Port Angeles has six Oxford Houses, Soiseth said there’s a pressing need for at least one in Sequim.
Details and contacts for the organization are found at www.OxfordHouse.org.
On the topic of drug education in school, Leeann Grasseth of the Port Angeles Healthy Youth Coalition (www.PAhealthyyouth.org) spoke about her program’s efforts to reinforce positive behavior among young people.
She also talked about Stevens Middle School’s Red Ribbon Week activities, held in October.
Guest speakers come to campus to talk about how they overcame drug-related struggles; students have the opportunity to pledge to be drug-free.
Then Jackson interjected.
“You know what the kids say? They don’t have an adult who talks to them” outside school.
Teenagers talk, text, tweet and post with one another, Jackson said, but they’re missing an adult who offers guidance.
An adult’s voice is crucial in the growing-up process, he said.
“That’s where all of you come in, where all of us come in,” added Budke.
Norma Turner, a longtime Port Angeles resident and activist, spoke up next. She has heard from teens that wherever they go in town, no adult will so much as look at them.
Next time you go to the store and see youngsters hanging out there, Turner suggested, make eye contact instead of turning away.
Making eye contact
This resonated with PA CAN organizer Gwendolyn Hullette, who wrote a vehement post on the network’s Facebook page.
“This is something that every single one of us can do to help with teens in our community,” she wrote.
“People aren’t looking at [teens] or greeting them or smiling at them. What kind of message do you think this sends to our young and vulnerable community members?
“I challenge everyone,” Hullette added, “to make eye contact and greet a teen when you see them . . . Whether it be walking down the street or in the grocery store or at the movies, make eye contact and greet them, smile, say hello!
“Teens aren’t hearing adult voices and they are not being welcomed by their elders . . . the way we were welcomed and greeted when we were their age!”
Hullette also urged her readers to post comments about this experience on the PA CAN Facebook page (found by searching for “Port Angeles Citizen Action Network”).
Another chance to discuss this will come at the network’s next forum Aug. 19.
All concerned residents are welcome at the 6:30 p.m. meeting in the upstairs conference room at The Landing mall, 115 E. Railroad Ave.
That session will home in on specific projects including the Aug. 31 Overdose Aware vigil and walk in Port Angeles.
The gathering will start at 7:30 p.m. at Civic Field, Fourth and Race streets, and include speakers, music and a walk to Olympic Medical Center.
Turner, for her part, left the meeting uplifted.
“I’m excited,” she said, “to see this next generation” stepping up.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
