The nation’s current drug crisis leaves no room for anyone to be merely a bystander on the sidelines.
Such is the perspective of motivational speaker Kendall C. Wright, who trains community leaders and executives all over the world. He understands that some people grow weary of hearing of the opioid situation — and they convince themselves it has nothing to do with them.
Until their car is burglarized by a person struggling with addiction. Or someone they know suddenly loses a loved one to an overdose.
“We can’t avoid the fact that, eventually, this impacts us all,” said Wright, speaking by phone from his office in West Chester, Ohio.
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Wright will be the keynote speaker at the Being Intentionally Great event Friday and Saturday at Columbus North High School’s Judson Erne Auditorium and also the school cafeteria, 1400 25th St. in Columbus. The gathering is in part meant to help youth especially in grades six through 12 learn key strategies “to create a life in which drugs don’t fit,” according to organizers’ promotional information. The free event also will examine the correlation between self esteem and peer pressure.
Friday’s event at 7 p.m. will consist of Wright’s message of hope for youth, parents and others. And Saturday’s get together at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. will be a workshop especially for youth on strategies to “find a spark” to help ignite their future and dreams, organizers said.
The pastors alliance last invited Wright as the keynote speaker at a local conference on racial division in 2015.
The local African American Pastors Alliance, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and the local Dayspring Church have organized Being Intentionally Great. The Rev. David C. Bosley, a member of the African American Pastors Alliance and one of the organizers, addressed the intent of the two-day gathering.
“The premise is pretty straightforward,” Bosley said. “The opioid drug crisis is prevalent across all walks of life. A big challenge for any community is how to turn its youth from drugs.
“So our team decided that there had to be something that we could do to help our youth avoid getting swept up in the tide of drug statistics. We decided that if the students were directed to focus on their greatness that it becomes a worthy life-long pursuit.”
Funding for the event came from the local Project Prevent initiative from the Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention organization.
Wright said that most of his direct work with addiction-related topics has been in his role as associate pastor of Missionary Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio.
“There, we’re always dealing with the challenges of life, of which drug addiction and alcohol addiction and peer pressure seem to be constant challenges for youth,” Wright said. “And that’s just a part of what I do while trying to support communities.”
Wright said he himself battled peer pressure and more in his younger years, finally having a moment after an experience with alcohol that such choices couldn’t possibly lead him to where he wanted to go with his life.
“The use of drugs really represent a symptom,” Wright said. “With addiction, there is usually something that enticed or encouraged that individual to try the substance, then try it again.”
He added that his grandmother and other supporters and mentors clearly understood the principle of displacement, via Scouts, YMCA programs, church and other activities.
“That became time that I didn’t have to explore other (unhealthy) things,” he said. “The law of displacement is a way of getting someone invested in something that is wholesome, edifying, encouraging, and a way to build self esteem, so that they then will be less likely to get caught up in the peer pressure that is one of the triggering factors in using drugs the first time.”
Bosley figures these two days –ones that will allow young people to make a commitment to be drug free — will be merely the beginning of other similar events in the future to offer support services to complement other help being offered locally.
“Most of all,” Bosley said, “it should embed in our students some key operations that guide them away from drugs.”
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What: Being Intentionally Great: Moving Youth From Following Drugs to Leadership. A team effort among the local African American Pastors Alliance, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and Columbus’ Dayspring Church.
When: Keynote address from leadership expert Kendall C. Wright at 7 p.m. Friday. Then Wright will lead workshops at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday on helping youth "find their spark" for their future, according to organizers. Each group on Saturday can enjoy a free lunch.
Where: Friday’s event is Columbus North High School’s Judson Erne Auditorium. Saturday’s event is in the school cafeteria. The school is at 1400 25th St.
Cost: Both are free. Event expenses are covered by a grant from Project Prevent from the local Alliance for Substance Abuse Prevention.
Information: The Facebook page for BIG Project — Being Intentionally Great.
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