Youth F.A.Q.
Youth Service Programs
If you feel unsafe or someone is being hurt, call 9-1-1. You can also text the Safe Place hotline with your street and city location to 69866, and they will text back a safe place to go. All of the fire stations and city busses in Bloomington and Normal are Safe Places. Go there, tell them you are there for Safe Place, and they will call us to come meet you.
If you need someone to talk to, you can call PATH at 2-1-1 who can connect you to the agency that can help, you can call us at 309-827-0377 to talk with a counselor, or you can call the National Runaway Safeline at 1-800-RUNAWAY (1-800-786-2929). You can also call us at 309-827-0377.
You can go to any Safe Place. Every fire station and city bus in Bloomington and Normal are Safe Places. Our office is open Monday-Thursday 8:30-4:30 and on Fridays from 8:30-3:00. Just walk in and ask to speak to a counselor.
Being there to listen for your friend could be all they need. If they need more help, you can tell them to call us or any of the other phone numbers we’ve listed. You can also encourage them to talk with an adult they trust.
Our high school staff would like to meet with you once every week or two, and our Youth Services staff can meet with you every week, or more or less often. It all depends on what you need.
Yes. We’ve worked with parents for 40 years, and know that sometimes they don’t change as fast as you do. We can help them understand how to roll with the changes that are happening to you. Plus, we can help them understand when you need to talk things out, and when you need some space to figure it out by yourself.
Prevention and Education
Yes. The liquid in e-cigarettes can cause nicotine poisoning if someone drinks, sniffs, or touches it. The vapor contains known cancer-causing and toxic chemicals. The health effects of repeated exposure to these chemicals are not yet clear.
Painkillers serve a useful medical purpose, but prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs are one of the most commonly abused substances by teens and adults.
Yes! Synthetic drugs have no regulation in terms of purity or potency, so one batch may be highly potent while another is much less. This increases the risk of over-dosing. Below are a couple of links with information about synthetic stimulants and synthetic marijuana.
http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/bath-salts-synthetic-cathinones
http://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/k2spice-synthetic-marijuana
Most people who use marijuana experience problems in learning, memory, coordination, and judgement. Since decision making is impaired, using it can lead you to do risky things like getting in a car with someone who’s been drinking or is high. Concentration and memory can suffer for days after use, especially in regular users. People don’t die from an overdose of marijuana, but they can die from lung damage, car crashes, or other choices they make while under the influence.
Yes. Paranoia and hallucinations are common when people take high doses of cocaine or methamphetamine. Even marijuana can cause anxiety and paranoia. Alcohol can cause brain damage and mental illness—especially when taken over a long period of time.
