ADDICTION PROGRAM NEEDS FUNDING FIX

Can sniffing a Sharpie get you high? Does smoking pot make you a
better musician? Are energy drinks completely harmless?

That's a sample of the questions Richmond high school students asked,
and then answered, based on their own research, in an addiction
prevention program offered in local high schools called Peer 2 Peer.

The answers they came up with, incidentally, were "yes," "no" and
"no" respectively.

The big question now on students' minds may be: Will the Peer 2 Peer
program continue?

The program, in which older students are involved in teaching younger
ones about addiction, is offered by Richmond Addiction Services
(RAS), which is losing roughly 85 per cent of its funding.

Vancouver Coastal Health announced last month it is ending its
contract with RAS and consolidating addiction services with its
mental health programs. The VCH funding runs out in February.

During a presentation to the Richmond school board's education
committee Sept. 28, RAS counsellors Christa Mullaly and Danny Taylor
gave an update on the program, which started in 2005 at Richmond secondary.

Palmer and MacNeill high schools later adopted the program and Hugh
Boyd is set to bring it into its curriculum this year, provided it continues.

Under the program, students in grades 10, 11 and 12 work with
addictions counsellors to come up with projects that examine a wide
range of compulsive behaviour -- from drinking and taking drugs, to
overeating, video games and even texting.

They then teach younger students what they've learned.

The idea is that, instead of being preached to by adults, they are
getting information from their peers.

Mullaly said she believes the program is effective, although by its
very nature, prevention programs can be hard to measure because, if
they work, there is nothing to measure.

"It's hard to measure something that hasn't happened," she said.

Asked what the recent announcement about VCH cutting its ties with
RAS might mean for the Peer 2 Peer program, Mullay said, "we're not sure."

She said it would be a shame to see the program suddenly cancelled.

"We certainly don't want to lose any momentum," she said.

The Peer 2 Peer program may be one of the programs offered by RAS
that could be safe.

Mullaly's and Taylor's positions are funded by the City of Richmond, not VCH.

But even if the funding from the city continues, it's uncertain how
various prevention education programs, like Peer 2 Peer, would be delivered.

RAS may cease to exist, so if the program continues, it may have to
be delivered directly by the city or some other organization.

Neil Smith, a member of the RAS board of directors, believes the
program will continue.

"If RAS as an organization doesn't exist anymore, we're going to have
to work hard to ensure that program continues," he said.

Yasmin Jetha of Richmond Mental Health and Addiction Services also
hopes to see the program continue.

"The hope is the city will continue to fund prevention services," she said.

She added an early intervention program offered in schools that is
funded by VCH will also continue.

The Constructive Alternatives To Teen Suspension (CATS) is a
counseling program for students caught using drugs.