GOVERNMENT KEEPS KIDS DRUG-FREE

The federal government is supporting a project to help prevent youth
from using illicit drugs.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit has
been given $284,308 to kick off the Resiliency Project, which is
designed to implement and promote activities aimed at preventing
drug use among youth in Northumberland County, Haliburton County
and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

The money, from the government's Drug Strategy Initiatives Fund,
will be used over the next 29 months.

"The project partners will recruit young people to participate in
youth council, and members of the council will be trained to counsel
their peers and provide them with the options of healthier life
choices," says Northumberland-Quinte West MP Nick Morlock, who made
the announcement on behalf of his government.

The former Ontario Provincial Police officer added that drugs are
"absolutely" a problem in this area.

"Not only the amount of drugs, but the kind of drugs," he said.
"Some of them only take two or three uses before you become addicted."

Norlock said the chief of the Ottawa Police Department told him
people who are addicted to drugs commit eight times the number of
crimes than those who are not addicted.

"This program is designed to dissuade you from beginning to take
drugs and for those who are in the early stages, or addicted to
drugs at least lead them away from the usage of drugs which in and
of itself tends to in many cases leads to other antisocial
issues and crime," he said.

"Now that drugs are in our primary schools, we have to do something
about it and today's announcement is exactly that. "This is, to me,
one of the most important pieces of the puzzle of how you remove
drugs from a community."

The anonymous Ontario Drug Student Survey includes students from
Grade 7 and into high schools.

It revealed some students are using drugs in the fifth grade and up.

The Eastern Region, which includes City of Kawartha Lakes,
Haliburton and Northumberland County, showed an increase in Oxy-
Contin and tranquilizers, where the Toronto area had a decline in drug use.

The health unit worked in partnership with Rebound Child and Youth
Services Northumberland, The Boys and Girls Club of Kawartha Lakes
and the Haliburton Highland's Family Health team to develop the
Resiliency Project. The project also includes Point In Time Youth
Services of Haliburton County, Northumberland Drug Action Committee,
Kawartha Lakes Drug Action Committee, Haliburton Drug Action
Committee, the HKPR District Health Unit and the United Way.

Health unit project co-ordinator Bridgette McFarthing said she hopes
the project will last three years.

"We're hiring youth in the fall once we lay our foundation," she
said. "It's bringing together five agencies, three networks,
reaching out to youth and then youth starting up and coming together
- -- so that takes a bit of time."