DARING STUDENTS TO RESIST DRUGS

The first step to protecting young people from the dangers of drugs is
education; and area schools are taking that education one step further
by daring their Grade 6 students to resist drugs, alcohol and violence.

OPP officer Bob Bortolato is currently in the throes of a ten-week
classroom study at St. Mary Catholic School and Victoria Cross Public
School in Mount Forest. The program is known as D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse
Resistance Education) and sponsored locally by the Mount Forest
Optimist Club.

The course was founded in Los Angeles in 1983, and has reached more
than 40 million children in over 40 countries since. Its highly
acclaimed series of lessons offer children skills they can use to
avoid involvement in drugs and alcohol.

Working side-by-side with "Officer Bob," area students are learning
how to resist peer pressure and live productive drug and violence-free
lives. The program started up in Wellington County four years ago in
Erin, and last year reached students in Arthur and Kenilworth.

"It's helped us make the right decisions," VCPS student Jacob Wolfe
said of the D.A.R.E. experience. "When your parents aren't there, you
have the education and knowledge to know what to do now."

D.A.R.E. goes beyond traditional drug abuse and violence prevention
programs. It gives children skills needed to recognize and resist the
subtle and overt pressures that cause them to experiment with drugs,
or become involved in violence.

Last week at St. Mary and VCPS students learned that, on average,
young people try cigarettes at age 12 or 13. They learned what effects
drugs can have on physical health and mental performance, and how to
make healthy and wise decisions to better keep them safe from
destructive behaviour.

"Smoking doesn't only hurt yourself, but it hurts the people around
you," said St. Mary student Elyse Bridgwater. "You should never smoke,
because cigarettes are filled with everything bad."

The classroom instruction, complete with an activity booklet and
helpful advice from mascot Darren the Lion, urges young people to
remember the D.A.R.E. model of: (D)efine the problem and opportunities
to avoid it, (A)ssess the dangers, (R)espond by making an educated
choice, and (E)valuate the good choices you make.

"No matter what other people try to get you to do, you don't have to
do it," said VCPS student Sarah Johnston.

"If you stand up for yourself under peer pressure, you'll be less
likely to fall for it," added classmate Georgia Mills. "You don't have
to smoke or do drugs. You can just say no."

Tailored to pre-teen students, the program outlines how drugs and
violence not only damage a young person's life, but the lives of
friends and families as well. It encourages participants to share what
they have learned with family members, and continue the discussion at
home.

"I think it has been a positive experience in the classroom,"
Constable Bortolato said of the D.A.R.E. program. "We're trying to
target kids before they have to make choices, and help them make
smart, positive, healthy and informed ones."

"Officer Bob" said it is important to give young people accurate
information on drugs and alcohol, and from there they can make their
own choices. He said it is also beneficial for the OPP to be in the
schools, building relationships and rapport with students, and showing
that police are there to help as well as offer enforcement.