The Harvard Teen Wellness Coalition is a broad-based community group that includes representatives from the schools, clergy, police, youth sports, the teen center, mental health professionals, and members of the community-at-large.
The coalition invites parents of adolescents in Harvard to participate in the Safe Home network, an initiative to help parents make a difference in the lives of their children. While Harvard is a safe community, it is not immune to issues of youth drug and alcohol use and abuse.
The Safe Homes network is modeled after a program developed in Omaha, Nebraska, and used in many communities across the country. The cornerstone of the program is a simple pledge that asks parents to commit to three guiding principles regarding their responsibilities in supervising their teens. They are:
- I/we will actively supervise all gatherings or parties of youth in our home or on our property or ask another responsible adult for help to do so.
- I/we will not allow the possession or use of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, other drugs, or violence by youth in our home or on our property.
- I/we will set expectations for my/our children by knowing where they are going, who they are with, what their plans are, and when they are to return home.
While these guiding principles are valuable for individual families, their power is multiplied within a community when participants make their names public within the network. For example, parents who allow their names to be published in the Safe Homes directory are welcoming calls from fellow parents who they might not know personally. These calls are extremely valuable in confirming that the party children say they will be attending is being chaperoned. Again, the goal of this program is to help protect children and preserve their future. The program is open to all families with students at the Bromfield School.
Those who want to learn more about the program are invited to visit the Harvard Safe Homes Network link, which can be reached through the Parents & Community link at www.psharvard.org.
The Harvard Teen Wellness Coalition: Edward Denmark, chief of police; Steven Frost, community representative, Harvard Athletic Association; Gretchen Henry, Harvard school system/community education director; Scott Hoffman, associate principal, Bromfield; Cynthia Hurley, guidance counselor, Bromfield; Thomas Jefferson, superintendent of schools; Ellen Leicher, community representative; Jay Ryan, community representative; Rev. Gregory Schmidt, pastor, Congregational Church; Jeff Shaw, School Committee; Terry Symula, community representative; Patty Wenger, parent representative, Bromfield School Council.
