PROVINCE DOLES OUT METH MONEY

West Shore Workshops, Programs Given A Boost

News about the hazards of the newest and most destructive demon drug
is set to reach West Shore families in the upcoming school year.

Educational programs and workshops are part of the West Shore Crystal
Meth Society's plan to deliver its message before the drug becomes a
full-blown problem.

"We're putting the final touches on our plans," said task force member
Dianna Seaton. "Our goal is to reach out to as many families as
possible. We want to enable the parents to help their kids."

The society, guided by a task force, is set to receive five-digit
funding from area municipalities that applied for provincial funds on
the society's behalf.

The funding, through the Union of B.C. Municipalities, was part of $2
million in provincial grants designed to be "seed money to foster a
response to crystal meth at a local level," according to a news
release last week.

Seaton says the province's approach to the problem is a good
one.

"Every community is different. There's always nuances and different
partnerships and networking within a community. If you can tap into
that you can be far more effective."

Task force members of the West Shore Crystal Meth Society began
meeting in March, working in partnership with West Shore
municipalities, as well as Sooke and First Nations communities.
Society members approached West Shore municipalities to apply for the
grant money so it could get local programs going.

Lorne Fletcher, Langford's senior bylaw officer, said when the City
was approached by the society, "it wasn't a mystery as to what to do."

Langford received $10,000 in grant money, as did Colwood, the
Highlands and Metchosin.

RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Gord Bedingfield said a regionwide approach is
key, and that the West Shore may not need to work on the enforcement
pillar because that work has already been accomplished regionally.

"By the time we do enforcement it's a bit too late. We want to get
prevention and education forefront."

Proper prevention strategies are needed, he said.

"The schools are tired of hearing principals stand up and talk about
the evils of the demon drug."

Fletcher has been involved in the enforcement pillar - accompanied by
education and treatment pillars - of a region-wide attempt to address
the crystal meth problem in the Greater Victoria school district.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, District 62 needs to take the
information and methods already established downtown, and use them in
the West Shore communities, Fletcher said.

"Now that a lot of the enforcement side of things is pretty much
established, the education element is probably the most important
aspect of trying to deal with this problem."

West Shore Crystal Meth Society's task force has a strong school
connection - Seaton is a school trustee and the society's president,
Daphne Churchill, is principal of Glen Lake elementary.

But at this time, a plan to target specific schools with local meth
programs is not determined.

While other West Shore recipients specified the West Shore Crystal
Meth Society as their grant recipient, the Highlands specified the
Victoria Crystal Meth Society.

It'll be up to council to solidify it plans for the money, explained
Highlands administrator Chris Coates.

Council has emphasized the district's "ability to combine our funding
with other municipalities to work on a problem that transcends
municipal boundaries."

A task force action plan for the funds is expected in the upcoming
months.