Parkland youth ambassadors present small survey showing substance abuse, career planning and driving safety as top concerns

Five Parkland high school juniors presented a short survey of peers to the City of Parkland City Commission on Feb. 5 that identified substance abuse, driving safety and insufficient college-and-career preparation among the top issues for local teens.

The youth ambassadors — Victoria Damaso (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School), Mallory Bitterman (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School), Nivi Barnabay (Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School), Angela Herr (Pine Crest Fort Lauderdale) and Alex Padness (North Broward Preparatory School) — told commissioners they used a 20-person convenience sample of mainly underclassmen and reported results as percentages rather than as citywide findings.

The students said they distributed a Likert-scale survey by QR code and direct outreach at their schools and reported these headline findings: about 58% of respondents agreed that mental-health resources exist in the community but 34% were neutral; roughly 66% agreed or strongly agreed that they feel safe at school (including responses noting the school metal detectors); more than 70% agreed that more should be done to prevent substance abuse among teens; roughly half of respondents rated neighborhood and school safety as neutral-to-positive; and many students listed school competitiveness and workload as a major stressor.

The ambassadors also ranked their top three issues in a follow-up question: substance abuse and driving safety appeared near the top of many respondents’ lists, and students named gaps in college-and-career advising and the desire for more recreational and arts programming for teens. Suggested responses included targeted substance-abuse outreach, driving safety and experience programs, additional career-planning workshops, and teen-focused social spaces such as roller rinks, arcades or arts classes.

"If you send alerts about programs that target ... driving experience ... or this is how you can combat substance abuse and find those resources needed for you to overcome addiction, you can publish that at the Canvas resource and students are able to access it," said Victoria Damaso during the presentation, referring to the school communication platform.

Commissioners praised the students’ professionalism and the value of the data while noting the small sample size. Commissioner Breyer said the study identified issues the commission might otherwise have overlooked and connected the findings to ongoing plans for the Village-in-the-Park redevelopment, which could host teen programming. Commissioner Kanterman encouraged the students to improve sampling and to provide school-by-school breakdowns in future surveys so commissioners can better interpret whether responses reflect school communities or the city as a whole.

The commission did not take formal action on the presentation but commissioners and staff discussed using the findings to inform future recreation and youth programming decisions and to coordinate outreach through schools’ Canvas systems.

The student group concluded their presentation and commissioners invited staff to consider how programs and the Village-in-the-Park planning could provide teen-oriented spaces and resources.