Bringing teenagers face to face with the destruction that drugs and alcohol can bring down on a family is one of the goals behind the third "Death To Meth" concert being held at the Pine Ridge High School from noon to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 10.

The free concert is one family's tribute to a teenager who died in 2005. Chantel Bacon-Wilson was 15 when she used methamphetamine for the first time, according to her aunt, Saunie Wilson.

The concert is held in the spring to remind teens before school closes for the summer of the damage drugs and alcohol can do, Wilson said.

Wilson is one of the organizers of the "Death To Meth" concert that is bringing seven bands to the reservation for an afternoon and evening packed with popular teen music and information about the hazards of drugs and alcohol.

As a tribal juvenile judge on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Wilson works with many families and individuals devastated by drug and alcohol addictions.

The court has adopted a new youth and family code based upon traditional family values, Wilson said.

"But where are the healthy families?" she asked.

Children need someone to teach them the traditions. Addiction is destroying families and those traditions. There is fast becoming no one left to share those values, she said.

"It could take 20 years to rebuild those families," she said.

Bands on the program include Aztlan Underground, RED, RipSnort, NyteLyfe, K-Dog, The Derelict aka: Vagabond and Crates Deep Crew.

These are all bands that offer kids a message of hope, Wilson said.

"There won't be any preaching," she said. "They'll just provide the kids with good, solid examples."

During the afternoon, a mural and art workshop will be led by Toltecayotl, a muralist team from Los Angeles.

Sponsors have contributed about $18,000 to bring entertainers to the concert. Sponsors include the Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, National Indian Gaming Association, Lynn Rapp, Anpetu Luta Otipi and Prairie Wind Casino.

Wilson still needs donations to provide a meal at the event and to assist with transporting bands from Rapid City to Pine Ridge.

Contact Wilson at 867-5151 (days) or 867-5041 (evenings) or by e-mail at: sauniew@hotmail.com.

Chantel would have approved of her family's efforts to make a difference on the reservation, her aunt said.

"The very fact that we had to bury her has to mean something," Wilson said. "It can't be so senseless."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com