DOUBLE GOAL: HAVE FUN, GIVE DRUGS THE BOOT

Soccer Program of Primarily Latinos Focuses on Prevention

Latino youths are benefiting from a free soccer program that's the
first of its kind - and most of them don't even know that the camp's
mission is to keep them away from illegal drugs.

"I just came to play soccer," said participant Luis Galdamez, 11. "I
didn't know they'd be talking about drugs, too." Substance Abuse
Prevention Services, in conjunction with Global Sports, hosted the
soccer camp this week at Sugaw Creek Recreation Center Park for 100
area youths. Participants, ranging from 7 to 17, learned about soccer
techniques from professional coaches as well as drug prevention tips
from guest speakers.

"With soccer, we're promoting kids doing something healthy for their
lives," said Priscila Grabowski, Latino outreach coordinator for the
prevention program. "And we're also giving them tips on how they can
stay drug-free." The camp was open to all area youths, but most
participants were Latino. Grabowski said the nonprofit could not
afford to pay for advertising, and only the Latino media agreed to
free ad space. She said she hopes to advertise in a wider variety of
newspapers next year. Sandra Naranjo, editor of Hola Noticias, said
she agreed to advertise the camp because she felt it was the paper's
duty to inform its readers about the opportunity.

"There is a lack of resources in our community for low income
families," she said. "By advertising this event, we made sure that the
Spanish-speaking readers that couldn't get this information from the
Anglo papers got it from us." Another reason the camp attracted mostly
Latino youths is because soccer is ingrained in Latino culture.

"We love this game," said Rodrigo Toro, a native Colombian and one of
the camp's head coaches. "When you come from South America, the first
gift you ever receive is a soccer ball." Halfway through the first
day, campers ate Bimbos - a Latino Twinkie-like dessert - while Pastor
Jorge Prado of Calvary Church spoke to them about the importance of
faith. A camp coordinator translated for the non-Spanish-speaking campers.

Grabowski emphasized that the program was open to all youths and that
addiction is colorblind "Drugs and alcohol don't see any age,
ethnicity or background," she said. "We outreach to everyone."
According to a report earlier this year by the Charlotte Mecklenburg
Drug Free Coalition, 42.5 percent of students in Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools have used marijuana at least once. That figure is higher than
the state and national percentages, 40.1 and 38.4 percent
respectively. The report also found that the increase in alcohol use
was significantly higher among Hispanics and blacks than whites. And
there was a significant increase in tobacco use among Hispanics, but
not blacks and whites. Arvis Williams, a guest speaker from area
mental health's "Fighting Back" program, said that while the results
of prevention efforts are not as quantifiable as treatment, they can
be just as effective, if not more so. "It's been statistically proven
that prevention does work," he said. "If you don't leave a positive
influence, then negative influences will quickly come in." Many
campers Tuesday seemed only to be half listening to Prado as they
rustled their dessert wrappers and looked around absent-mindedly,
leading some youth to question the effectiveness of the camp's drug
prevention speaker series.

"I'm not even going to lie: You know the older kids aren't going to
listen to what they're saying," Jessica Moreno, 15, said. "But
hopefully it will help the younger ones later on."