By Shari Kaplan
Following months of nagging rumors that A Place for Teens was a popular site for drug use among local teenagers, the Los Gatos Police Department recently completed an undercover operation and has given the teen center a clean bill of health.
According to LGPD Capt. Jeff Miller, one or more undercover officers visited A Place for Teens at various times for several months, and discovered no drug sales or use. The operation ended in May, at which time Chief Larry Todd sent a letter to the teen center, informing them of the operation and commending them for offering teens healthy alternatives.
"It was reported to us that a drug problem existed. We didn't set out to target a specific drug or group of people," Miller said, adding that marijuana and alcohol were among the various substances he was told were being abused at the teen hangout, popularly known as "The Outhouse."
There are indications that drug sales and use may exist in nearby areas, such as Los Gatos High School or local neighborhoods, Miller said, but the undercover operation found nothing connecting that substance abuse to the teen center. "As for the specific concerns of A Place for Teens being rife with drug use--those were unfounded," Miller said.
Jill Kent, A Place for Teens' director, and Gladie Rabitz, board member and fundraising chair, both expressed confidence in the "cleanness" of the teen center and relief that the undercover operation confirmed what they believed.
"We didn't think it was a problem and we were really concerned about it. It's hard to dispel these kind of rumors," said Rabitz, explaining that most of the suspicions were expressed by concerned parents.
"A Place for Teens was started for teens to have a safe, drug- and alcohol-free place to go. We work really hard to offer good programs. Kids use us in a lot of different ways, but not for drugs.
"Our best asset is Jill Kent; she's a real self-starter and has really turned the center around," Rabitz said.
Kent acknowledged that there have always been parent concerns about drug use at A Place for Teens, and is glad the undercover operation took place because it allowed police to observe the teen center as it really functions, and its young users as they really behave.
"This proved what we knew all along, and I'm glad we didn't know the police were doing it, because when you know something is going on, you might try to change things," said Kent, who has served as A Place for Teens director since August 1995.
Among the new summertime features Kent and the teens have in the works are comedy and astrology classes, self-defense and peer-counseling training and concerts on Friday and Saturday nights.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, July 10, 1996.
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