Rob Varela / Star staff From left, Kerry and Andy Brody and Linda Gonzalez are holding a resource meeting to pass along to other parents lessons they learned raising their own teenage son. The informal session will include a speaker from the Simi Valley Police Department.

As parents of a struggling teen who found resources to cope, Andy and Kerry Brody and Linda Gonzalez know they're not alone.

"My ex-wife and I found ourselves caught off-guard with an incident that involved our 15-year-old son," recalled Andy Brody of Simi Valley. Like many teens who come to an age of more intense peer pressure and challenging choices, he said, "our son made some poor choices that put us in a place of mild panic, and we had no idea what to do next."

With that, the Brodys and Gonzalez (Andy Brody's ex-wife) have launched a parent resource meeting where struggling parents of struggling teens can learn what their options are.

Parents are invited to join them for a meeting at 7 tonight at the Corporate Conference Center in Simi Valley.

"Our goal is to provide hope, encouragement, awareness and a variety of resources to help other parents who may be struggling with their teens and the frustrating process of finding help and alternate solutions and guidance," Gonzalez said.

"This is the best possible way to show our gratitude and hopefully make a difference in other families."

The informal meeting will include a speaker from the Simi Valley Police Department who will talk about teen statistics in the community. Booklets with information on warning signs as well as resource lists also will be available.

"We are not endorsing any programs," Andy Brody said, "just bringing as many programs as possible to one place to let people know what their options are. Our purpose is to inform parents of helpful resources in dealing with their struggling teens."

Before their son had any problems at school, he was a very good student and athlete, Gonzalez said. Then one day a year ago, she was called into the school because he was being expelled for drug involvement.

"This was a very big wake-up call, and I felt panicky, lost, overwhelmed and scared to death," recalled Gonzalez, who took her son to therapy, got him more involved with his youth group and imposed more restrictions on his lifestyle.

But after another incident, "I drew up a contract that if he had another incident involving risky behavior, that indicated to me his inability to control himself and his choices he would be sent to a boarding school that could provide him the help and protection he needed before it progressed and got out of hand."

After a snowboarding trip in December, "I (drug) tested him positive, and that was the deciding moment," Gonzalez said. "Even though his using was not severe and he was doing it lightly, his attitude and demeanor were changing."

After discussing it, Gonzalez and Brody decided to send their son away to a therapeutic boarding school.

"Through the school he is at, they offer a parent/adult seminar that was very eye-opening and inspiring," Gonzalez said.

One of the challenges presented at the seminar was to take a stand for struggling teens and their families and make a difference by hosting a resource meeting.

"At the end of that seminar, Kerry approached me with the idea of doing this together and, of course, I agreed," Gonzalez said. "Andy aligned with that, and here we are, the three of us working as a team with one purpose."

They know there are other families in the same situation, Kerry Brody said.

"Because of this growth and change that we experienced as a result, we decided to create a pay-it-forward program to help other parents that may be struggling with the frustrating process of finding help and alternate solutions for their children and family," she said.

"We want our workshop to provide various resources for parents to educate themselves ahead of time, so that if their child begins showing any sign of struggles, they will know what to do and where to go."

In addition to helping parents, the meeting will be a resource for key school administrators and churches that deal directly with families of teens, Gonzalez added.

"These are the people that are in direct contact day to day and weekly with our teens and would be in a position to provide the various resources available when needed to the families," she said.