Glenbard Parent Series speakers to discuss 'Growing Up with Chris Farley'

On Wednesday, Nov. 30, the Glenbard Parent Series: Navigating Healthy Families will present Dr. Timothy Fong, M.D. and author Tom Farley as they discuss "Growing Up with Chris Farley: A Story of Addiction, Love and Forgiveness, What You Need to Know."

This special hybrid event will be presented at 7 p.m. on Zoom and in person at Glenbard West High School, 670 Crescent Blvd. in Glen Ellyn. The program is presented in partnership with the DuPage County Health Department Prevention Leadership Team, NAMI DuPage and Serenity House. Go to glenbardgps.org for further information and the link to this webinar.

A community resource fair with giveaways will proceed the program at 6:30 p.m. at Glenbard West. Those who attend in person can enter a prize drawing for fun family prizes.

To be placed on a reminder list for GPS events or submit a question in advance, send an email to Gilda Ross, Glenbard District 87 student and community projects coordinator, at gilda_ross@glenbard.org.

Join Glenbard Parent Series for one of a select few in-person programs featuring subject matter experts on prevention, family connectedness, and strategies for raising healthy, happy teens.

Farley will share how his brother struggled with addiction and how it impacted his family. He advocates that parents are the first line of defense when it comes to teen drug use. When caregivers have knowledge about common drugs; know their effects on the mind and body; and recognize the symptoms of their use, they are able to outline the risks to young people.

Chris Farley was a comedian and actor best known for his characters on Saturday Night Live and in films like "Tommy Boy" and "Black Sheep." He passed away in December 1997 due to substance misuse. Chris's older brother, Tom, comes to GPS to raise awareness about addiction and mental health. Tom Farley is an advocate with Rosecrance Health Network. Previously, he ran the Chris Farley Foundation, which delivers prevention messages to adolescents. In 2008, Farley co-authored The New York Times bestselling book, "The Chris Farley Show, a Biography in Three Acts."

Fong is a 1990 graduate of Glenbard West. He is a professor of psychiatry at the Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and part of the faculty leadership of the UCLA Cannabis Research Initiative.

CEU's for nurses, school social workers and counselors will be offered to those who register at https://forms.office.com/g/FRGqJ1SmDd.

Glenbard Parent Series is generously sponsored by the Cebrin Goodman Center, Community Consolidated School District 93 Birth to 5 Coalition, Cooperative Association for Special Education (CASE), College of DuPage, Duly Health and Care, Emmy Gaffey Foundation, Glenbard Early Childhood Collaborative, Kids Matter, Kiwanis Clubs of Division 9, Prevention Leadership Team of the DuPage County Health Department, Rosecrance Health Network and Webb-Hutter Family Fund of the DuPage Foundation.

Special thanks go to NAMI DuPage and Serenity House.