OFFICERS MAKE DIFFERENCE WITH TRUST AND D.A.R.E.

If sound could be used as a power source, the cheers and applause coming
from the Saenger Theatre Monday could have run a small city.

Nearly 450 Hattiesburg sixth-graders filled the theater with excitement as
they graduated from the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) program.
"D.A.R.E. rocks," they chanted as part of the school spirit competition and
the winner was hard to judge.

"D.A.R.E. is just wonderful," said Lillie Burney Elementary School
principal Deborah Woullard. "They look forward to it so much. If something
interferes with their D.A.R.E. time, they get upset about it."

The Hattiesburg Police Department's two D.A.R.E. officers, Mike Childress
and Renea McLaurin-Causey, earned the attention and trust of 445 students
for the 10-week class and held it for the 2-hour graduation program.

"It's just a personal relationship they have," Woullard said of the bond
formed between the officers and the students.

And it's the personal relationship that is the most challenging part of
being a D.A.R.E. officer, Causey said.

"It's not just getting them to talk to you, but to trust you," Causey said,
noting the perception among many young people that police officers are the
bad guys. But from the sights and sounds of Monday's graduation, Childress
and Causey far surpassed the expectations of their students.

"We've broken down some barriers with those kids," Causey said.

"A lot of people look forward to it and want to know when we're coming
back," Childress said.

And by getting the kids to trust them, the officers have been able to teach
them how to make the best choices for their lives and stay away from drugs,
alcohol and violence.

Lindsay Thomas, a student at Sacred Heart Catholic School, took the basics
from the course.

"I learned to say no to drugs. People die from using drugs," Thomas said.

"I learned to stay drug-free and think for myself and not to let others
think for me," said Chan'nel Evans, who goes to Thames Elementary School.

Childress said he wants the students to think critically.

"We're facilitators. We're trying to get them to think critically. We're no
longer lecturers. This way you use a lot of role playing," said Childress,
who has been a D.A.R.E. officer for eight years.

"I try to teach them that whatever choice you make, you have to live with
the consequences of those choices," Causey said.

The goal is appreciated by school administrators.

"She promoted that we all make mistakes, but we don't have to do it over
and over again," Woullard said.

"D.A.R.E. has done so much for us. It's made the children aware of the
negative effects of drugs," Woullard said. "If it were not for the D.A.R.E.
program, I think we would lose more children than we already do."