After alcohol was believed to be involved in last weekend’s tragic fatal crash on Golden Valley Rd. that killed a mother of six, Bob Sharits of The Way Out Recovery SCV is opening their doors to teens and parents across the Santa Clarita Valley that may be dealing with drug and alcohol issues.

Teens and their families struggle with the pain of abuse and addiction all across the Santa Clarita Valley, and while it may not always make itself apparent, in times of tragedy it’s important to seek help.

When information came out that the woman suspected to responsible for the deadly crash was being investigated for driving under the influence, Sharits extended an open invitation to the suspect and her family for help with any potential drug or alcohol abuse problems.

“When we have something like this it’s hard to make sense, it’s hard to even talk about what happened… I came here today to offer The Way Out as a means to the community to communicate this,” said Bob Sharits, program director at The Way Out Recovery SCV, during a live interview Wednesday morning.

He continued, “We want to extend our hands to the community of Santa Clarita and anybody who is feeling the emotion of this to talk about a few different things: What you are feeling, first of all, and how alcohol or drugs can devastate a family like this in an instant.”

Related Story: UPDATE: Golden Valley Collision Victim Was Heading Home After Visiting Children In The Hospital

“I think the biggest issue we face in combating the problem is that people are unwilling to really bring it out in the open,” said Sharits. “There is a big stigma involved with it a lot of denial involved with it.”

The tragic crash took place just a month after the city of Santa Clarita hosted its Youth Grove Walk Of Remembrance, where three more names were added to the list of Santa Clarita youth killed in traffic collisions.

Related: The Way Out Recovery Hour: Drugs And Alcohol, Driving Are No. 1 Killers Of Teens

“I think the beginning of really making an impact is allowing people a safe space to say, ‘There is a problem here,’” said Sharits.

Sharits went on to talk about how far-reaching the damage can be after a tragedy such as this one, and how the community can work to move forward and prevent similar tragedies from occurring in the future.

“We can use this as an opportunity to talk to our kids about the dangers of drugs and alcohol — there is always that that comes out of tragedy… I want to ask the community to talk to our kids more openly,” he said.

Sharits ended his interview with an impassioned plea to try and end these kinds of senseless deaths.

“This is a tragedy that didn’t have to happen — it didn’t have to happen. These are preventable tragedies,” he said. “Whenever somebody overdoses or gets in a car crash and dies where drugs or alcohol are involved, that is absolutely preventable.”

Sharits concluded, “As a community, we need to talk to our kids, we need to talk to our adults, we need to talk to each other about the dangers of this. It’s not okay to drink and get behind the wheel of a car.”

In Santa Clarita, drug issues are a major concern for many. The mission of the Santa Clarita rehab The Way Out Recovery SCV Drug and Alcohol Outpatient Treatment is to provide high quality, effective alcohol and drug outpatient treatment. The drug rehab’s goal is to assist adolescents, adults and their loved ones in becoming happily and usefully whole, free from drug addiction. Those seeking Santa Clarita drug treatment or a teen drug rehab can rest assured that The Way Out Recovery’s philosophy is to teach life-long coping skills and strategies to assist in improving quality of life and living happily and meaningfully without the need of destructive behaviors.

The Way Out Recovery SCV

28118 Bouquet Canyon Road

Santa Clarita, CA 91350

(661) 296-4444

The Way Out Recovery SCV – Santa Clarita

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrzAAIJj9XQ

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