homelessness: 2 men with life jackets on in boat, smiling.

Seattle Counselor Sticks With Clients For Years In ‘Long Game’

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His 6-foot-4 frame folded into the small wooden sailboat, Keaton Hohl waved and shouted “Ahoy!” to each passing boat on Lake Union.

The trip was a chance for Hohl, who is 20 and experiencing homelessness, to have some fun on this cloudy August afternoon. But it was also an opportunity for him to talk about his drinking with Johnny Ohta, a chemical dependency counselor for homeless youth with Ryther, a mental health agency in Seattle. An avid sailor, Ohta is also a board member at the Center for Wooden Boats and often takes clients out sailing.

Drug Prevention and Red Ribbon Week

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We are in the middle of celebrating Red Ribbon Week, the oldest and largest drug prevention campaign in the country. Sponsored by the National Family Partnership, Red Ribbon Week “serves as a vehicle for communities and individuals to take a stand for the hopes and dreams of our children through a commitment to drug prevention and education and a personal commitment to live drug free lives with the ultimate goal being the creation of drug free America." Since 1980, Red Ribbon Week has been effectively used to target the substance abuse prevention message to school kids and families. Yet, the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows a disturbing trend in this country in the “continuing rise in the rate of current illicit drug use among young adults aged 18 to 25 -- from 19.6-percent in 2008 to 21.2-percent in 2009 and 21.5-percent in 2010.” This increase appears to be driven in large part by a rise in marijuana use among this age group. Further, a recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 20 percent of teens have taken a prescription drug without a doctor’s prescription.

Source: LSU Players Face Suspension for Synthetic Marijuana Use

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Three Louisiana State University football players have been placed on suspension after testing positive for synthetic marijuana, a source told the New Orleans Times Picayune. Running back Spencer Ware along with cornerbacks Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon will be suspended for Saturday’s game against Auburn University, and possibly longer, according to the unnamed source. The story was first reported by LSU's student newspaper, The Daily Reveille. Worried fans have been voicing their concerns on message boards and forums around the Internet. The suspensions come about two weeks before No.