EDUCATION THE KEY

IT WAS sometimes hard to hear, sometimes shocking, but local students
were all ears when a recovered drug addict and MICA paramedic told of
their experiences with drug addiction and drug addicts.

The pair were two of the speakers helping to launch Drug Awareness
Week at Broadford Secondary College.

Organised by local police in conjunction with Mitchell Community
Health, Berry Street, Open Family, the FREEZA program and School Youth
Focused Service, the local DAW program takes a hands-on education approach.

Kilmore Police Leading Senior Constable Tim Austin said this was the
forum's fifth year and the second to engage the arts as a method of
getting the message across.

"Rather than someone just getting up there and giving a heap of facts
and figures, we got the kids to do an art exhibition with the theme
being drugs and alcohol," Leading Sen Const Austin said.

More than 100 students from Broadford, Kilmore, Wallan and surrounding
areas participated in a class art project, designing slogans and
artworks to spread this year's theme "Alcohol is a drug too".

There were also some jaw-dropping moments as students heard the story
of a recovered drug addict who faced the scrutiny of her family and a
small country town as she sank into debt and resorted to theft to
support her habit and the paramedic who spoke of the consequences of
binge drinking and drug use including assault, rape and -- all too
often -- death.

Youth resource officer Rhys Melville said he was pleased with the
students' participation in both the art aspect of the launch and the
interactive forum.

"The kids really sat up and paid attention when (the recovered drug
addict) spoke and they asked a heap of questions, how did she know she
was an addict, how did she know she needed to do something about it,
what did she do," Sen Const Melville said.

"This is all aimed at harm minimisation, hopefully getting to these
guys before they get to the story they heard today. If I go in there
and say to them, don't drink, don't do drugs, it has no effect, but
making them aware of the consequences, hearing her tell how she
smelled, how she felt dirty, broke the law and stole to support her
habit, that's the thing that sinks in."

Assumption College student Brandon Walker, 15, produced one of his
school's contributions to the slogan campaign and said he had been
very interested to hear the stories of those "in the know" during the
forum.

"I think because alcohol is so accepted in the community, people like
to go out for a beer and they don't even think about it, they only
think about the consequences with illicit drugs," he said.

At the conclusion of the launch, several students, LSC Austin and Sen
Const Melville presented several students with awards for the
contribution to the art project, in categories including "best slogan".