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At This Club, It’s Peers Without Beers : Support group: The statewide organization strives to defuse the pressure faced by teen-agers that can lead to drug and alcohol abuse.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Talk to some teen-agers about the benefits of sobriety and drug-free living, and their eyes may glaze over, their attention may wander. Not so for Ryan Jacques, who takes the subject quite personally.

Jacques, 17, who just graduated from Torrance’s Shery High School, has an older brother who was left severely brain-damaged after being hit by a car driven by a drunk driver.

“I used to go to a continuation school, and the kids talked about (drug abuse) like it was an everyday thing: ‘I went to this party, and I got so bombed. And, oh, yeah, we smoked dope,’ and all this stuff,” Jacques recalled. “The pressure is really bad (for some teen-agers), though I don’t feel pressure (because of) my experience. It’s not worth it. You just don’t know what can happen.”

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Jacques is a member of Friday Night Live, a statewide teen-age club with many South Bay area chapters that strives to defuse the peer pressure that leads many young people into drug and alcohol abuse.

Friday Night Live, which is funded by a consortium of state and county government agencies, provides members with a number of after-school, evening and weekend activities as an alternative to partying.

With no up-front fees to teen-agers or schools, students attend weekly club meetings at their schools. Out-of-school activities include local movie nights, miniature golf and billiards outings, and trips to major attractions such as Cirque du Soleil or Raging Waters. Students not only receive discounts on these activities but transportation to the events as well, either through chaperoned van pools or school buses.

John Berndt, director of the Los Angeles area clubs, said nearly a million teen-agers have enrolled in the organization since it began in three California counties in 1985. Today, 48 of the state’s 58 counties have Friday Night Live clubs serving high school students. (It’s called Club Alive for the junior high age group.)

Sixteen of the 18 high schools in the South Bay have chapters. Membership is about 75,000 in the Los Angeles area. Members said they think the club is crucial in supporting their decision not to drink, take drugs or join gangs.

“A lot of my friends party with alcohol or whatever, but I’m not really into that scene,” said Jane Lee, 17, a senior at Torrance’s West High and Friday Night Live member. “I don’t think I really need all that stuff in my body. I wanted to be able to help out other kids who felt the same way I did and wanted alternatives, to be going out with their friends but not having to drink.”

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Many clubs are also involved in community service. The Banning High School club has participated in graffiti removal, food collection for the homeless and periodic beach cleanup parties called “Trash Dash Beach Bash.”

“We wanted students and other people to know that this is a group of kids who believe you can have a good time without getting drunk and without getting high,” said club President Chelsia McCoy, 16. “But besides having a good time, we try to help our community too.”

Those who have had drug problems welcome the support from the club and its alcohol- and drug-free outings.

“You don’t feel so alone about wanting to be sober,” said Mary Ann Hopkins, 19, a senior at El Segundo’s Arena High School who said she has battled drug addiction but is now sober. “Most kids think when you’re in high school, this is when you are supposed to party. I was at that stage in seventh grade. It’s nice to know you’re not alone.”

“You meet people (from all over), and they’re all there because they don’t drink and they don’t do drugs, and you all have something in common,” Jacques said.

Information about Friday Night Live is available at the club’s Hermosa Beach regional office, (310) 379-1535; the Carson office, (310) 518-4705, or the main office, (310) 922-6613.

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