Canaan
For example, a PowerPoint presentation projected on the wall of the cafeteria at Mascoma Valley Regional High School Tuesday evening showed many distressing results of a Youth Risk Behavior Survey of more than 300 students.
But the dozen parents and school staff workers who watched the presentation by Alice Ely, executive director of the Mascoma Valley Health Initiative, seemed to embody and express values of sharing and concern.
That seemed far away from the stark experiences of students at Mascoma High School, where one in three students surveyed had felt sad or hopeless in the previous two weeks. One in 10 had attempted suicide, and twice as many had seriously considered it.
One in three had lived with someone with substance use disorder.
One in five boys had been bullied, as had two in five girls.
About 30 percent had used alcohol in the last 30 days, and 20 percent had consumed marijuana.
Several attendees remarked on the growing prevalence of mental health issues.
Those were a concern, said Rosemary Affeldt, of Canaan.
“What we really need to see is the money going up for treatment services,” she said.
Talk of trends soon gave way to brainstorming and problem-solving. Suggestions were made to extend more opportunities and constructive activities to young people.
Several speakers noted that one in five of the high school students surveyed reported that they watched television or played computer games for at least three hours a day.
That’s partly because of transportation issues in the rural towns served by the high school, which is the flagship of the Mascoma Valley Regional School District, said Cynthia Collea, a social worker for the district.
“One of the barriers is we don’t have a late bus,” Collea said. “After-school activities are restricted.”
Finances are another barrier.
“My daughter is 14,” said Elizabeth Rizzo. “She’s aged out of everything that doesn’t require a great deal of funding.”
But Collea pointed to the community’s support for a large renovation project at the high school and for her position — “we’re the only district in the Upper Valley that has a social worker.”
“I think the district and the community really care,” Collea said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began the Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 1990 “to monitor priority health risk behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States.”
The national survey uses sampling techniques in biennial surveys but many New Hampshire schools have expanded participation.
At Mascoma Valley Regional High School, 84 percent of the students participated.
One hopeful note in the latest poll was a decline in daily tobacco use (to 13 percent in 2015, from 23 percent in 2011). Also, the 30 percent of students who had used alcohol recently was down from 48 percent in 2007.
At the end of the two-hour session, when the attendees — all women — were asked if they would come to a follow-up meeting, about half raised their hands.
Rick Jurgens can be reached at rjurgens@vnews.com or 603-727-3229.