Carson High mock bedroom seeks to educate on teen drug use

Partnership Carson City youth high school program participant Nancy Mejorado, 17, is creating a mock teenage bedroom for parents and community leaders to better know how to spot drugs among youth belongings.

The mock bedroom, which is Mejorado’s Carson High School senior project, opens to the public 2:30-7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Partnership’s main office, 1925 N. Carson St.

“I wanted to design a hands-on experience to show parents how teens may be hiding drugs in their rooms with the goal to prevent overdoses and further drug use in Carson City’s youth,” Mejorado said.

The bedroom items range from seven different types of vape pens to a bottle of Advil that could have been taken to relieve a hangover headache.

Samantha Szoyka, youth program coordinator for PCC, said that school resource officers will be available as well to answer questions.

“Mock bedrooms are developed in such as a way as to provide a real-life interactive setting,” Szoyka said, “to help parents recognize signs of physical or mental health risks, identify warning signs of distress or red flags of abuse, that can sometimes be easily missed.”

Mejorado is a two-year member of Partnership’s high school youth advocacy club called Represent. The program at Carson High is dedicated to the prevention of suicide, drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

Middle school programs are available as well at Carson Middle School and Eagle Valley Middle School. The programs are funded by PCC and meet once a week during lunch.

For more information, contact PCC at (775) 841-4730 or info@pcccarson.org.

Partnership started as an effort to fight the spread of methamphetamine more than a decade ago. Since then, it has taken on the role of a coalition to support and organize all kinds of services throughout the capital city. Partnership still focuses on stopping drug abuse, promoting a variety of programs that help youth and families be safer and healthier.