TEACHING THE CHILDREN TO JUST SAY NO

Area Schools Participate in Red Ribbon Week

The telltale ornaments for Red Ribbon Week were donated by the
Southeast Missouri Community Treatment Center, something the agency
has done since the inception of the program in 1988.

Red Ribbon week commemorates the work of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, a
Drug Enforcement Administration agent murdered in the line of duty.
The week is devoted to encouraging young people to live a drug-free life.

Linda Fitzgerald is a spokeswoman for the community treatment center.
She believes that prevention is an important message to take to young
students. "When you're in the business that we are, of seeing people
struggling to overcome addictions .. If you can get them in the
beginning and keep them from becoming addicted, that is so much
better for them," she said. "We try to show the students the worst
case scenario, what could happen to them, if they become addicted to
drugs or alcohol."

Fitzgerald said they are not concerned they will be putting ideas
into the children's heads by doing the programs. They believe the
information is already by and large out there, pervasive in society,
and that accurate information is necessary to help youth make informed choices.

Fitzgerald and her colleagues are also aware they cannot stop drug
and alcohol abuse entirely, but if it helps even one person avoid the
trap of addiction it is well worth a few ribbons and speakers.

"Red Ribbon Week is an important tool in a comprehensive continuum of
prevention activities, and provides an excellent starting point for
implementation of community-based prevention efforts." said Amber
Sadler-Winick, a counselor with Southeast Missouri Community
Treatment Center. Schools plan their own activities, Fitzgerald
explained, but the treatment center can supply speakers and
information if requested.

At times when they are speaking some children have asked questions
that let the counselors know they have seen questionable activity.

In a recent case, Fitzgerald said, a child described how the smoke
goes "round and round" in a marijuana bong.

The child was 7. "We know the children see these things at a young
age," Fitzgerald said. "In such a family, sometimes the children have
to raise themselves, they have to be their own parent."

And only with accurate information will there be a chance for such a
child to make the right choice when the moment of decision arrives.

Fitzgerald said such experiences are distressing and disconcerting
for the counselors. "We shift the focus from the child at that point.
We stress to them all the message, 'Just say no to drugs.'"