DRUG TASK FORCE GAINS MOMENTUM IN SOUTHWEST SASK.

The Swift Current and District Drug Task force is here to stay,
according to chairperson Larry Kielo.

"We are in this for the long haul," he said as he presented an update
to City Council and requested an agreement to provide regular updates
to the councillors.

"We simply want to keep the lines of communication open," he
added.

As the first semester of classes break the half-way mark, about 40
students representing the Comprehensive High School, Maverick,
Waldeck, Wymark, Success, O.M. Irwin and St. Joseph were recently
invited to shared their views with the task force.

"We embarked on a 2.5 journey of asking them what we should do and
what we shouldn't do," said Kielo.

It was a positive move, he added.

The youth should be spoken to regularly when there are key points in
time and the task force needs direction.

"We have to have them as one of our key tools in communication ...
they were more than willing to share what they thought was working and
what certainly wouldn't work," Kielo noted.

For example, they heard the youth saying "don't preach" but
educate.

"They want to be educated, they want to be able to know that there are
supports available to them ... they want things to be contemporary.
They want things to be relevant to them," he explained.

On Wednesday, January 25, homeroom time will be dedicated to
presentations from a variety of speakers.

Nelson Pompu, works with the Swift Current ambulance and has seen the
impacts drug and alcohol uses. He will be speaking to the Grade 10s on
Wednesday.

"What I am going to be speaking to the Grade 10s about is the impact
on families, on friends on the victims of drug and alcohol abuse and
what it is like to be a first response agency responding to those
scenes and the effects on those responding agencies," he said. The
presentation will "get away from the you shall not do drugs," and more
on impacting on the students the drugs have on people.

He will prompt the youth to question "how would you feel if someone
did this to one of your family members."

Pompu has experience speaking to a variety of different age groups
about drug use.

"Its a long-term process," he said. "You can speak to Grade 5 or Grade
6 class now but we won't know the effects of those talks until later
on."

There are so many factors playing in a person's life he said. Such as,
their home life, social life and personal choices they make.

"You can only hope that it is going to make a difference," he said.
Noting that amongst the youth there are habitual users, one time
users, occasional users and "a tremendous number of exceptional kids
in this city and rural areas."

We can't forget to focus on them as well, said Pompu.

"They are the example for the others to try and follow, we have to
encourage that."

The task force is still in the awareness and information stage, said
Kielo who has seen people grasping onto the issue of drug and alcohol
use.

"I know that when we started the process last spring about drug and
alcohol use in our community that there were a lot of people that were
really struggling about what was out there," he said. "I think people
are starting to understand that it is in issue in our community.

"Have people acknowledging that we have our youth battling some pretty
big issues in their lives right now."

The community acceptance and support for the Swift Current and
District Task Force has been seen in the willingness to fund the
program, said Kielo.

"We haven't gone to far in terms of seeking out funding through grant
processes yet simply because we have been very fortunate to receive
funds from people that are willing to share their finances to help us
along to get us started."