CANTON, New York (WWNY) – Dozens of people gathered for an evening of conversation in Canton.
The parents of Xander Worthley, Shane and Sondra, invited other parents from the area to have an open-heart dialogue.
They were joined by people who spoke in honor of Shylynn Dixon and Rylee Basford. The three teenagers died in the last year.
“The community of Canton coming out tonight to show their support for Shane and Sondra was very heartwarming to see, just to see the urgency,” St. Lawrence County Youth Bureau director Alexa Backus said.
Shane and Sondra shared their experience with the dangers that social media can pose to a child.
This is in hopes of spreading awareness on the importance of parental control when it comes to kids’ online activity.
Ultimately, it’s to prevent deaths like Xander’s after participating in what’s known as the “choking challenge” on social media.
“We’re so proud of the courage that Shane and Sondra Worthley had this evening in having the desire to get in front of parents, educators, serving professionals and talk about Xander’s story,” Backus said.
We spoke to Xander’s parents off camera, and they say they’re grateful for the community’s support since Xander’s passing in March.
They say they’re still grieving, but that it was urgent for them to speak up. Their message to parents: “be nosy in what your kid is doing.”
That’s something Homeland Security agent Juan Adames also encouraged parents to do. He informed parents on how social media is not always beneficial. It can be a pathway to sextortion.
“The current ages that get impacted the most range between 8 years old and 17 years old,” he said.
Canton middle school Principal Joe McDonough says tackling issues like this takes a whole community.
“You know the old saying, ‘it takes a village,’” he said. “We need to be sharing information like we did tonight; partnering with families, partnering with agencies like Homeland Security and St. Lawrence Youth Bureau, because the problems are too big for any one of us to deal with.”
The St. Lawrence County Youth Bureau and the Homeland Security outreach program are planning another meeting like this one.
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