See It: The Community being helped

Living in southern West Virginia where cultural norms often take precedence over healthy decision making, it has always been evident that a greater community-wide effort needed to be born to counteract the destructive decisions of various members of the community where I live, namely youth.

Attending a very rural high school with less that 400 students, grades 7 – 12, taught me a lot about the negative social norms that sprout from a youth’s home life. It wasn’t uncommon to hear echoes in the halls about underage drinking, excessive tobacco use, and stories of bullying and harassment.

I began a SADD, Students Against Destructive Decisions, chapter in my high school when I was in the 8th grade to assist in the alleviation of destructive behaviors among my peers. Over the years, the chapter became very successful with very distinct, positive changes in the school’s environment and substance abuse among students.

During my senior year, in March 2005, I helped lead efforts to promote the same type of programming that I had started in my high school in areas throughout Mercer County, working closely with Community Connections, Inc., the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, and SADD National.

Through those efforts and others, SADD National selected me as a member of its national Student Leadership Council for two consecutive years, and during the second year, a member of its executive committee. This opportunity allowed me to work on a national level and to gain additional ideas to supplement the programs I was already working with on a local level.

In September 2006, I earned a grant to catalyze the efforts of the program throughout Mercer County – allowing for further programming, greater outreach to youth in additional locations, and to more fully develop the county-wide initiatives that I had already commenced. With this funding, I became a part-time employee and project director of the newly formed “Mercer County Safe and Drug Free Communities Program.” The grant funding also allowed for the purchase of various educational models and materials, purchase of the proven-effective curriculum, ALL-STARS, and travel experiences to learn more about opportunities to seize in Mercer County, WV.

One year later, I received a second grant for the program. With this pot of funds and through other foundation, business, and individual donors, the Mercer County Safe and Drug Free Communities program has taken a lead in the efforts to increase students’ knowledge of basic destructive behaviors such as tobacco use, underage drinking, bullying, violence, premarital sex, etc and their harmful consequences. The program also promotes character building, sense of self, goal setting, and the ability to clearly see the ways to achieve those goals.

Currently, over 20 locations are being served annually, and from September 2006 through August 2007, over 4,600 individuals directly received services provided by the program in Mercer County!

In addition to local efforts, I have invested time revitalizing SADD programs throughout the Mountain State. In coordination with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program, the Huntington Safe Traffic Operations Programs, and local community coalitions and schools, I have spearheaded initiatives to promote activism in current SADD chapters and begin new ones. In the past, SADD was present in West Virginia but was languishing; the program was run by a highway safety official in his spare time, focusing only on one region of the state. There were only a handful of schools involved. It was time for a major revitalization!

Now, West Virginia has well over 100 active SADD chapters – going from less than 50 only 4 years ago! Because of the increased interest and desire for new, innovative ideas, West Virginia SADD has now hosted two statewide conferences, has attended four SADD National Conferences in a row, and provides handbooks to chapters to show a detailed pathway to a chapter’s success.

From October 2005 through August 2006, I served as the chairman of West Virginia’s Partnership to Promote Community Wellbeing – Underage Drinking Prevention Workgroup, a statewide effort sponsored by the West Virginia Prevention Coalition (check). Leading this group, I worked to link efforts between state government, agencies, schools, community coalitions, and other organizations to promote a unified effort against underage drinking throughout West Virginia.

To keep a strong youth’s perspective on key issues of the various programs I work with, I also advise a youth advisory board (locally) and a student leadership council (state-wide). Both groups of teens meet regularly and discuss the problems in their respective communities and strive to think together as a group to decide the best solutions to overcome the obstacles.

See It: The Community being helped

In the past two years South Windsor High School has lost two students to car accidents where speed was a major factor. South Windsor High School SADD group is working with their police to perform seatbelt checks as students leave school. They will be checking to make sure students are wearing seatbelts in the front of the car as well as in the backseats. Students who are wearing seatbelts will receive "Smarties" candy. Students not wearing seatbelts will be issued a ticket as well as a "Dum-Dum" lollipop. Both sets of students will also receive a seatbelt safety fact with their candies. The SADD group will also have a display case in the school with information on smart driving including seat belt safety, distracted driving, speeding and statistics on teen accidents. SADD will also find a speaker who has personally been affected by a car accident due to unsafe teen driving to come and speak to students.

See It: The Community being helped

The day before students get out for spring break, FCCLA shows a MADD video to all classes of Southeast High School. This video shows the consequences of drinking and driving. At the end of the day, FCCLA students stand at the exits of the school. We check each car to see if the driver and his/her passenger(s) are wearing seat belts. If they are wearing seat belts, they receive a Smartie candy. If they are not wearing seat belts, they will receive a Dum-Dum sucker. All drivers will also receive a pamphlet entitled, "How to Die in 0.7 of a Second."

See It: The Community being helped

The PRIDE Troupe has been impacting young people in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana for over 15 years. The Troupe is comprised of youth from high schools across the two parishes with a common goal: educate young people about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs and encourage young people to make safe, healthy choices.

The PRIDE Troupe is a component of PRIDE. PRIDE is a community nonprofit organization that works to decrease drug use in the community. PRIDE Youth Programs is the International parent company of PRIDE teams all over the world.

Our Local PRIDE Troupe bases everything we do off of the four pillars of PRIDE:

EDUCATION Yes, we may be against drugs and alcohol, but we don't know all of the facts. This is why it is very important that we be educated about common drugs seen in our community. We often have educational videos or presentations and activities focusing on the dangers of using drugs, so we can bring the information back to our schools and communities.

SOCIAL As a PRIDE Troupe, it is important for everyone to know each other Each month our Troupe holds some sort of Social.. The Socials involve icebreakers, games, and fun.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH A major part of PRIDE is our performance. We all come together to create a 40 minute original production of song, dance, and educational skits. Each year we perform at about ten Junior and Senior High Schools around the parish as well as the Louisiana SADD Conference. The entire performance is written and created by our own Troupe members.

COMMUNITY SERVICE Another major part of PRIDE is the community service that we provide. Each month we come together to have at least one Community Service project across the parish. From collecting food at Thanksgiving, to building homes for Habitat for Humanity, we try to do our part in the community.

See It: The Community being helped

At my school,North Central High School, we have a very active group called SADD- Students against destructive decisions. I think a great way to spread awareness about smart driving is giving students steering wheel covers that say- saving a life takes two hands on the wheel. I think reminding teens that they can hurt someone else with the carelessness is the only way in preventing careless driving.

See It: The Community being helped

What I plan to do is post posters around my school, I am in the middle of starting a SADD chapter at my school, and planning an assembly to promote safe driving. At my assembly, I was planning to ask a representative of MADD but I was afraid that having an adult talk to a large group of teenagers would lose them. I also plan to create a safety net for students who decide to partake in dangerous activities, e.g. a designated driver hotline. I am working very hard create groups at my school that will carry what I am starting since I am only a senior. I am also planning a seatbelt challenge and I will need to set up plans for one during the first semester of next year. I am planning to create a poster or bumper sticker contest and ask the art teachers if they will offer extra credit for it. I am going to create bumper stickers and key chains to promote safe driving, so every time they, my peers, see their car or keys, they remember that driving smart is the first step to seeing graduation. And I want to do so much more.