Teen Court students urge New Iberia council to back vaping-prevention outreach

Members of the Garren Paul Atkinson Lewis Foundation’s Teen Court told the New Iberia City Council they want to start a vaping-prevention program that reaches elementary students and families.

Tara McWhirter, executive director of the Garren Paul Atkinson Lewis Foundation and director of Teen Court, introduced three student members and said the program has operated since 2021. “Teen Court was started in 2021 as an idea to help teens not have things on their public record as they grow up,” McWhirter said.

Sophomore Carson Mallet told the council Teen Court focuses on sentencing rather than guilt or innocence and that completing sentences can allow charges to be expunged. “Once they completed their sentences, their record is expunged,” Mallet said. He and his peers said many Teen Court cases involve vape devices.

Jeremy Diaz, a junior, said vaping is “a major problem in our schools” and described the students’ plan to combine factual presentations about health harms with social messaging to discourage use. “So what we want to do is start a program that will hopefully sort of talk these kids out of using these vapes,” Diaz said.

Andrew Chambers, another Teen Court participant, said students are often exposed to vaping at home and that early education could help younger children refuse offers. “So whenever a person comes up to them and says, do you want a hit? They will say, no. Thank you,” Chambers said.

During council questions, a member asked why students vape; Diaz said many respondents say vaping “calms” them and the program is trying to teach alternative coping methods. McWhirter said Teen Court has added a substance-abuse class and that the time to complete programming before expungement “could be up to 6 months, up to a year,” depending on the youth’s needs.

When asked what share of Teen Court cases involve vaping, students said they did not have official statistics but estimated “about 30 to 40 percent” and noted Teen Court holds about five cases per session, so “at least 1 case a session is about vaping.”

Council members praised the students’ presentation and encouraged the group to continue outreach and bring details about the proposed prevention curriculum, target grades and any support requested from city departments.

The council did not take any formal action on the proposal at the meeting.