Helping Local Families for 34 Years
Dec 2008Unlike most health professionals we've profiled, Sandy Fagan didn't always know what he wanted to be when he grew up. In fact, this former College of William & Mary quarterback and free safety studied business and figured he would become an entrepreneur someday. But Fagan's career path turned during graduate school in 1971 when he joined a citizen group concerned about the sudden rise of illicit drug use in Williamsburg. From that small group grew the Drug Action Center; an organization committed to addressing alcohol and drug abuse among children and teens on the Virginia Peninsula through various services. The Drug Action Center, which would later be renamed Bacon Street, opened its doors in the summer of 1971, and at the same time, started the community's first hotline for drug and alcohol abuse.
Fagan says his personal experience led to his involvement with the Drug Action Center; during college and graduate school he had watched the lives of several friends crumble due to substance abuse. After a brief stint in Washington, D.C., running a drug and alcohol treatment program for the Department of Defense, Fagan was recruited to be a full-time counselor at Bacon Street in 1974 and promoted to executive director in 1977; a position he's held ever since. Health Journal sat down with Fagan to explore the issue of substance abuse among youth and what Bacon Street is doing to help.
HJ: How old are most of the patients you work with?
SF: We work exclusively with children. We treat 300 kids a year. Our break point is 19; if you are over 19, then you are probably appropriate for an adult center.
HJ: What do Bacon Street's counselors focus on?
SF: The family. Everything that we do here is family-focused. Suffice to say that our experience and research in this field have told us that we need to be deeply engaged with families, parents in particular, if we're going to have a meaningful impact on children who are suffering from substance abuse issues.
HJ: Are children of parents who abuse drugs or alcohol more likely to do so themselves?
SF: It's an issue we run into a lot, a recurring theme. But of the families that come here, their profiles are as wide as the horizon. We work with a significant number of poor families as well as wealthy ones.
HJ: Are there misconceptions about who is likely to abuse alcohol and drugs?
SF: There are a lot of myths around about how and where substance abuse occurs, and one thing that has always been underestimated; not only in our community but also across America - is the number of well-to-do people who suffer from substance abuse issues. When we look at kids who come in with clearly identifiable substance abuse disorders, the percentage of kids who come from our gated communities is probably higher than [the number from] any other area. There is no insulation from youth substance abuse. We have Boy Scouts in treatment, and we have athletes.
HJ: Is it tough getting through to kids about alcohol and drugs?
SF: The tough part is finding out what's really going on, how long it's been going on, and the significance of that behavior.
HJ: What do you tell the parents of a child with an addiction?
SF: If we believe a child has an addiction, we try to give the parents a simple definition of what that means. We tell them their child couldn't stop using even if he or she wanted to.
HJ: What are the most common substances abused by youth?
SF: First, alcohol. Second, marijuana. Those remain consistent.
HJ: What challenges do you face in your role at Bacon Street?
SF: For years, the Drug-Free School and Communities Act has provided money to local school boards to develop prevention programs. Today that money is all but gone. Our prevention effort overall is now about one-fifth of what it was in 2002.
HJ: What can parents do to help with the problem of substance abuse?
SF: Most importantly, parents need to understand how substance abuse presents itself to their children, and they need to establish clear "no-use" messages for their kids. There is a lot parents can do to help change the behaviors their kids are involved in. The first step for recovery is to get people to stop using.
HJ: Are there any specific challenges in working with youth compared to adults with substance abuse issues?
SF: There are specific concerns about kids and alcohol that really raise the stakes for us needing to get involved and for parents to take action. For one, we know the frontal lobe of the human brain (responsible for cognitive tasks such as moral and social decision-making, long-term memory formation and emotional development) continues to grow until age 25. We also know that alcohol abuse in the adolescent years stalls frontal lobe growth.
HJ: What has kept you at Bacon Street for 34 years?
SF: Because my work isn't done. There has always been more to do.
HJ: What surprises you most about adult life?
SF: That I have yet to feel like a grownup!
HJ: If you could trade places with anyone, who would it be?
SF: Tiger Woods...a bright mind occupying a body that has mastered the game I love.
