A powerful message about drug addiction and recovery was brought to Bronxville last week by William C. Moyers, executive director of Hazelden's Center for Public Advocacy in Minnesota.

The national nonprofit organization founded in 1949 helps people reclaim their lives from the disease of addiction.

"I'm going to talk about this from the perspective of a teenager because at one time I was just like you," Moyers told the assembly of eighth- through 12th-graders, teachers and a few parents.

He spoke about growing up in Garden City, Long Island, "a place very much like Bronxville," he said.

"I lacked for nothing - be it emotionally, financially, morally or spiritually," he said.

His father, Bill Moyers, was an ordained minister before he became a journalist.

A casual experimentation with marijuana and a few drinks with friends led to the younger Moyers' increased drinking and use of stronger drugs.

"We (my friends and I) were only teenagers doing what teenagers do, taking chances and having fun," he told the assembly. "I wanted to fit in so I tried mood- and mind-altering substances to have fun."

And then he lost the ability to stop.

"Eventually, drugs and alcohol became my masters, and I crossed the line between use and abuse at age 20," Moyers said.

He has been clean and sober since Oct. 12, 1994, after getting high in a crack house. Dressed in a suit and tie, he stood at the podium and said to the students, "This is what an alcoholic and an addict looks like."

Moyers acknowledged that some students may be curious as he was at a young age.

"If you choose to experiment with legal or illegal drugs, you may not be able to choose the outcome," he said. "Some of you may not be affected, and others may travel down the abyss to addiction."

All addiction begins with experimentation, agreed Jay Genova, project director for Eastchester Communities That Care, a communitywide public health prevention program designed to improve the health and wellness of youth and families of Eastchester.

"The earlier (younger) a person uses, the more likely he or she will become addicted," he said.

The first thing to emphasize to someone who was heavily involved in addiction is that recovery is a lifelong process.

"Our message is one of prevention, and delay the age of onset," Genova said. "Denial (of the problem) is a powerful factor, and kids don't recognize its impact."

Kimberly Wildey, a community education specialist for The Maxwell Institute of St. Vincent's Hospital in Tuckahoe, visits schools to talk with kids about drugs, alcohol and peer pressure.

"In kindergarten we do resiliency skills and teach the kids to stand up for themselves," she said. "If they can stand up to peer pressure and bullying when someone puts their friends down at a young age, we're hoping that when they get to high school they won't say 'yes' to peer pressure at that level."

The topics of alcohol and tobacco are introduced in fourth and fifth grades, respectively.

"That's around the age that kids start using," Wildey said. "In high school, we'll talk about teenage drinking and alcohol and give them the skills to say 'no.' "

Wildey says the presentations address students in a mature manner.

"We treat them as adults because teenagers are very aware of their decisions, have pressure on them and can get caught up in things," she said.

Moyers suggested they wait until they're 21.

"Make the right choice, be proud of the choices you make, and set an example for others," he said.

Moyers' midday presentation to students and his evening meeting with parents and educators were sponsored by the Bronxville PTA Health and Wellness Committee.

Janie Rosman can be reached at jrosman@lohud.com.