SEAL BEACH : Public Forum Will Address Drug Abuse

Seal Beach Cares, a nonprofit substance-abuse education group, will hold its second annual public forum tonight in the City Council chambers.

The forum will feature a panel including students, Police Department representatives, school district officials and city officials, Cares President Wayne Hanson said. Statistics about drug use and drug-related crimes in the community will be discussed.

Councilwoman Gwen Forsythe, an organizer of the group, said that last year’s program raised parents’ awareness of the situations and pressures that students face daily.

The event will be broadcast live on Comcast Channel 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. During the second half of the program, residents will be able to call in with questions. Students from Los Alamitos High School will be staffing the telephones, and numbers will be displayed on the TV screen.

Cares, or Citizens Becoming Active, Responsive and Educated on Substance-Abuse Prevention, was started in January, 1990, to raise the community’s consciousness about drug and alcohol problems and develop prevention strategies, Hanson said.

The group, which has about 100 members, has also been working on a program called Neighborhoods in Action, Hanson said. That program is designed to identify signs and symptoms of drug use, prevention methods, effective communication techniques and available resources, Hanson said.