Judging from discussion at a public forum April 9 dealing with youth problems in southwestern Butler County, serious attention to those issues is necessary by virtually all segments of the community, especially families.

Judging from attendance at the meeting, which was co-sponsored by the Butler County Department of Human Services and the Butler County Drug and Alcohol Program, youth in southwestern Butler County are facing few if any serious issues about which the community needs to be concerned.

Only about 25 people showed up for the session, with many of those present actually having a role with the forum program. For the most part, the forum was ignored by the people with the most direct power to make a lasting difference in young people's lives — parents of the area.

Yet it is mothers and fathers who lament when situations involving their children get out of control and they no longer know how to deal with the issues.

The information made available April 9 had the capability of providing them insight and direction, but by their decision not to open themselves to that information, most parents of the area in effect gave approval for the problems to fester or worsen.

"This is the beginning stage of trying to address these issues," said Denina Bautti-Cascio, a consultant for the county Department of Human Services. "The government sector of human services can't do it all, so we are looking to partner with the communities."

But such a partnership can't evolve when most of the community is disinterested — disinterest being the most glaring revelation of the April 9 meeting.

The meeting revealed a general lack of public concern about the fact that police in Zelienople, a community of only about 4,000 people, usually respond to more than a half-dozen heroin incidents a week.

Likewise, parents and others of the area chose not to expose themselves to facts about drug and alcohol use by young people who still are in school.

An eighth-grader at Seneca Valley Middle School pointed out that alcohol use is popular because of the ease of obtaining it at some homes.

Some parents simply don't notice or care that their children are drinking, he said.

The meeting showed that public concern also is weak regarding mental and emotional bullying, which is more widespread than people in the county's southwestern sector seem willing to admit.

"I think the biggest threat facing our children's mental health is bullying, which leads to social anxiety and depression," said Dr. Jeffry Wahl, who has practiced family medicine in Harmony for more than 20 years.

One message that many parents should have been at the forum to hear but weren't also came from Wahl.

"If you're going to be a parent, you must be a parent, not a buddy," he said.

Fortunately, opportunities remain, despite the poor attendance at the April 9 session.

What was learned from that session will be the topic of two follow-up sessions, the first one in May. The Butler Collaborative for Families, a group of county human service agencies, will meet to discuss the results of the forum and analyze how those agencies can take action.

The second session, which will be held in June, will focus on youth initiatives based on input received in connection with the April 9 forum.

The dates for the two sessions will be announced.

The April 9 meeting was billed as a means for trying to improve the lives of toddlers through teens in Jackson Township and Zelienople, Harmony and Evans City boroughs. Unfortunately, the weak attendance wasn't a basis for achieving any widespread progress toward that goal.

Actually, that attendance was a basis for achieving next to nothing.

If southwestern Butler County ever is going to address seriously the problems of young people, many more than 25 people are going to have to become involved.

April 9 was a wasted opportunity that must not be repeated.

— J.R.K.