We often describe Vashon by comparing it with other places. Usually our unique island situation makes for qualities we like in a home — more peaceful, more rural, better schools. But not everything that sets us apart is so positive.
Several years of surveys have shown that island youth report higher rates of drinking and drug use than other teens around the state. While a cause of the higher-than-average substance abuse levels has yet to be pinpointed, a group of energetic volunteers has dedicated themselves to tackling the issue. With hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal and local funding to work with, members of the VARSA coalition have partnered with VYFS to implement a raft of programs and changes in the community in an effort to educate families and create an environment that’s less accepting of teen substance abuse.
It’s unclear how much impact the group has had so far — use at the high school level remains high while junior high use has taken a significant dip. Volunteers, however, seem just as hopeful about the impact the group could make given several more years. We were surprised, then, when a conflict broke out between VYFS and VARSA, complete with heated emails copied to The Beachcomber. And as journalists, we were also frustrated by the silence that followed, when those involved declined to elaborate on the apparent rift. We now know the details of this dispute aren’t easy to grasp. The federal and state grants that provide funding for VARSA and some VYFS programs are shockingly complicated, as was the relationship between VARSA and VYFS, its fiscal sponsor. Disputes over roles ultimately landed the groups in mediation, something they agree was a distraction from their real goals.
We’re concerned that a group of mostly volunteer members trusted to oversee large government grants and significant projects on Vashon apparently fell into such dissention that it took weeks to sort out their differences. However, we think we can believe them when they say the argument had roots in the fact that their growing organization was complicated and at the same time lacked clear guidelines — a recipe for trouble. We were sad to hear that in the process of sorting out their roles, Luke McQuillin, a VYFS employee who headed VARSA, decided not to be involved anymore. We thought McQuillin was knowledgeable, motivated and creative when it came to the important task the group had taken on.
We hope that the slightly reinvented VARSA — one less closely tied to VYFS — will attract new volunteer energy to carry on what McQuillin and others began. And we hope it’s true that the group will now more easily partner with others in the community. While we’ve heard a lot of positive reports about what VARSA and VYFS have done, we’ve also heard a good deal of skepticism about whether they can truly cause a shift in our youth and their actions. It seems, when a system and funding are in place so that this group could make a difference in the lives of our young people, and recent data suggests they may be having an impact already. As VARSA co-chair Diane Kjelleberg said, our best chances appear when the community joins in the effort.
