AAC VP of People and Culture Featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune

Stacy Mendes, the vice president of people and culture at AAC, was recently featured in The San Diego Union-Tribune for penning an op-ed on how to speak to children about drug use and opioids. Over the course of the last year, opioid use has skyrocketed, and with some studies indicating that children begin experimenting with alcohol and marijuana at age 12, and are using other drugs by age 14, now is a better time than any to encourage parents to speak to their children.

Last year, Mendes and her husband had three friends lose their children to accidental overdoses in a very short span of time, and though it may be a fact many parents refuse to face, substance use among children is not as uncommon as it once was.

With in-depth knowledge of addiction and the experience of being close to parents who lost their children to overdoses, Mendes did not hesitate to speak to her daughters, ages seven and 10, about drug use, and in her article, she offers suggestions on how other parents can start this conversation as well.

Mendes’ entire piece can be read at The San Diego Union-Tribune.