MENTORS KEEP KIDS AWAY FROM DRUGS

Folks in Federal Way are banding together to prevent drug abuse in
children who are so young, they may have never even heard of
substances like LSD, heroin or cocaine.

The Wonderwood Prevention Coalition aims to prevent future drug use
in elementary and middle school children in the area surrounding
Illahee Middle School. Parents and PTA members at Enterprise, Rainier
View, Lakeland, Sherwood Forest and Panther Lake elementary schools,
as well as Illahee Middle School, are involved in the project.

Enterprise has already begun an effort with a cross-age peer
mentoring program called Friends Incorporated. Nine volunteers from
Illahee come to Enterprise every Thursday during the last hour of the
school day and meet with their "buddies," the students who they
mentor. Each volunteer works with three younger students.

"Everybody that needs one gets a friend and gets a positive role
model and somebody they can talk to. I think that's what it's about,"
said Hanna Moore, an Illahee seventh-grader who volunteers with the
program.

The older students, in sixth and seventh grades, are Enterprise
alumni who volunteer for their role as mentors. Elementary students
who are identified as "at risk" are chosen for the program by
teachers and counselors.

"Sometimes kids deliver the same message to other kids that adults
would deliver, but sometimes the kids listen to other kids more than
they would adults," said Enterprise school counselor Stacy Traylor.

Students at risk of drug abuse can be identified by a number of
factors before they've ever used drugs, said Nicole Moore, Wonderwood
project coordinator and certified drug and alcohol counselor.

Some risk factors include stress, poverty, behavioral problems, low
test scores and a lack of involvement with the school community, Moore said.

"Just alleviating the pressures that they are feeling is
preventative," she said.

Mentors provide a positive role model for the children, listen to
them, read with them and play math games. They are taught to be good
listeners and to talk to the children without judgement, Moore said.

"They're trying to keep them connected and feeling good about being
in school and making healthy choices," she said. "Prevention is so
broad, you can really do a lot of different things."

Moore also helps at-risk youth and their families by connecting them
with community resources.

Blake Hansen, a sixth-grader who mentors younger students at
Enterprise, said it's fun to work with his buddies. Two of his
buddies need math help and one of his buddies is in the special
education program.

"I go to his class and help him talk to other kids," Hansen said of
his special-ed protege. "He doesn't have any friends, so I try to be
a friend for him."