Dear Parents,

Prom should be one of your child’s most special moments, not one of their most dangerous.  I’m Beth Pearce, the producer and director of a film on the dangers of designer drugs, Voice of the Victims, True Stories of Ecstasy & Ketamine, and the creator of Cathy’s Prom, and I’d like to take this moment to talk with you parent-to-parent. 

I was midway through making my film, which tells the stories of four young people who suffered designer drug tragedies, when I discovered to my shock that all four of these tragedies occurred in May.  Spring is a dangerous time of year for our children.  Too often in this season of new life and rebirth, young lives are lost because of destructive choices.

Don’t wait for someone else to talk to your kids about drugs!  It’s your job, and you need to do it now, before it’s too late.  Kristie Johnson, a drug counselor I interviewed in my film, said it right:  “Parents need to not sit there and listen and say 'This is someone else's story,' because other parents I know have done that and they have lost their children.  They [parents] need to be proactive.”

So what should you do?

First, encourage your teens to visit this site whether it’s their prom year or not.  Encourage them to sign Cathy’s Pledge and forward it to Cathy’s family, and to their friends.  Accountability helps!

Second, don’t think “Not my kid!”  The parents interviewed in my film didn’t think their kids were at risk of dying from drugs.  Cathy’s parents didn’t know she was thinking about taking Ecstasy again at prom, after two years of living entirely drug-free.  Sara’s parents didn’t know a friend was going to slip four Ecstasy tablets into their daughter’s water.

And most important, talk to your kids now about drugs.  It’s tough, but I’ve made it easier for you.  Please log onto my Web site, www.VoiceOfTheVictims.com and purchase both the Parent and Young Adult editions of my film.  Watch the Parent edition first, without the kids. It will give you the information, motivation and confidence you need to have a truly effective talk with your kids.

Then, watch the Young Adult edition with your child or children.  You’ll cry together as you watch the stories of Cathy, Sara, Steven and Erin, and you’ll learn together.  When the film is over, the timing will be perfect for a purposeful and meaningful talk about not just drugs, but about the potential life-altering or life-ending consequences of all destructive choices.

Your purchase will help make it possible for me to complete my next film, True Stories of GHB.  Please help!  GHB is a terrible drug and I need to get the word out on it.

Let’s keep praying for our kids!

Beth

Click here to see previews of what happened to other young adults, including Cathy.

This page was last updated on 08/31/05.