TOLEDO—Parents, teenagers and teachers are invited to attend “Teenagers and Drug Abuse in Our Society Today and How to Help Them,” a free presentation Feb. 8 at Toledo Blessed Sacrament.

The event features speaker Rick Marvin, a certified interventionist and addiction specialist, who discusses the dangers of drugs and alcohol in schools and how to help youth get back on track.

Mr. Marvin and his wife, Amy, awoke July 7, 2005, to find their 18-year-old son, Rusty, a St. John’s Jesuit star athlete, 3.5 grade-point-average student and graduate, dead in their garage from an accidental cocaine overdose. Rusty was a perfect son and, to everyone’s surprise, a drug addict. Rusty came to his parents for help his senior year. The Marvins could not afford or find the kind of help Rusty needed. He was sent to an adult halfway house and was dead 60 days later.

After Rusty’s death, the Marvins started Rusty’s House, a teen and young adult drug and alcohol support facility in Toledo that offers the support the Marvins could not find for their own son when they needed it the most. More information on Rusty’s House can be found at www.RustysHouse.org.

Mr. Marvin’s presentation is Feb. 8 at Blessed Sacrament from 5-8 p.m. Dinner is to be provided. Call the parish house at 419-472-2288 by Feb. 2 to make reservations. The free event is recommended for parents, students in grades 7-12, teachers and anyone else who works with youth.