Teens say no to drugs

Are your children doing drugs? Do they drink? What about their friends? One group is holding a conference to make sure they don’t.

They call it Trap Sober. It’s a conference held by the Bonneville County Youth Council at which teens are given a new perspective on peer pressure. Youth leader Katelyn Johnson said it’s more than just an awareness class.

“We spend three and a half days changing your life,” she said.

With more teens opting for recreational drugs and alcohol, Johnson said teens are the only ones who will be able to get through to their own generation.

“We really just want to raise awareness and create a community where kids can come and feel loved and know that they have a family outside of their family,” said Johnson.

The goal is to warn teens against drugs and alcohol so they can go out and educate their friends, guiding them away from peer pressure. This is something that McKenna Peterson said she wishes would happen at her own school.

“Their wasting their lives away with these things that kill their brains and their bodies and their potential,” said Peterson.

Peterson said the conference isn’t just a bunch of grown-ups yakking. She said they do activities that mean more than not doing drugs. It’s about building relationships through group activities so teens, like her, won’t start drugs in the first place.

“You don’t have to give in to these things. Our generation can accomplish so much more,” she said.

More can mean taking a straight path, or reaching for the stars. Regardless, Peterson says it’s an event that won’t be forgotten.

“You can take them (skills learned at the conference) on into the rest of your life. You can use them with your normal friends and groups and your families,” she said.