VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The youth of today and their parents have a lot on their plate. To help families throughout the region, the Virginia Beach Police Department is organizing a massive expo event.
“The challenges kids face these days are far greater than what we experienced as teens,” said Lieutenant Kevin Lokey, who runs the Virginia Beach Police Department Youth Services Program.
The News 3 Team continues to report on issues many families are facing, including violence in schools, pressures on social media and the impacts from the pandemic.
“A lot of people feel helpless and they don’t realize that there’s help out there for them,” said Lokey.
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While police are serving and protecting, they say they frequently get questions about resources available.
“What we wanted to do was provide resources to address those concerns and those issues,” said Lokey.
That’s why the Virginia Beach Police Department has organized a massive Parent and Youth Resource Expo with 40 informational tables, 17 different 30-minute classes and different kinds of activities and displays. The event is Saturday, November 16 at the Law Enforcement Training Center at the Oceanfront at 411 Integrity Way.
They will have classes on all kinds of topics like mental health and suicide prevention, fire safety, the dangers of vaping and using marijuana, and firearm safety.
“There will also be a pedal car track out back for teens to experience what it’s like to drive impaired,” said Lokey. “Pretty much, it’s a one-stop shop.”
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He said they want to put families in contact with resources that already exist in the community and help people find solutions to issues.
Everyone from the region is welcome to come.
“The planning is massive, the involvement from the community is massive, so I hope the turnout is equally as massive,” said Lokey.
