Last week, TABC parents and students were privileged to hear from Ike Dweck, Founder and CEO of The SAFE Foundation, an organization that deals with different forms of addictions, as they play out within the Jewish community. The primary focus of his visit to TABC was to discuss the epidemic of teenage gambling amongst Modern Orthodox teens. On Wednesday night, October 18, TABC parents came to the building to hear from Dweck who spoke about his own experience and how he racked up $40,000 in debt with the mob by the time he was in ninth grade (before the internet was even available). With apps and websites such as FanDuel making gambling even more accessible today, it is easier for kids with phones to access gambling venues 24/7 and get hooked. He urged parents to be vigilant by knowing what their kids and their friends are doing with their credit cards and how something as simple as a Target run can in fact be feeding a gambling addiction. Dweck returned to TABC the next day to speak directly with the entire student body, without any teachers or administrators present, in order to foster as open a conversation as possible. Many thanks to TABC’s guidance department for opening this dialogue between parents, studnets and administrators on this important communal issue facing teens today.