DARE society questions lack of provincial support

Although the DARE program continues to evolve, according to organizers one
thing that has not changed is a lack of support from the provincial government.

Last Wednesday representatives from the local DARE Works Society met with
the Foothills School Division's board of trustees to give an update on the
program which teaches Grade 6 and 8 students the dangers or drugs, alcohol
and bullying.

DARE Works Society director Laurie McCreary-Burke explained the program has
a budget of $155,000 each year and $95,000 is funded through stakeholders
such as the FSD. The remaining $65,000 is raised by the society and since
the program began six years ago they have not had any support from the
provincial government.

"We have applied for funding with the Wild Rose Foundation and hopefully
that will come through, but the province doesn't like DARE for some
reason," said McCreary-Burke. "We have had no luck at all with the
province. I don't know if there is a conflict, but we have never been given
a reason."

She explained that in the past the DARE Works Society has applied for
funding through Alberta Justice and although, according to McCreary-Burke,
DARE met all the criteria they were denied funding.

"I don't know what their agenda is underneath all this, but someone doesn't
like us and we are doing our best to change that," she concluded.

McCreary-Burke said the DARE Works Society has requested meetings with the
new Solicitor General and local MLAs George Groeneveld (Highwood) and Ted
Morton (Foothills-Rockyview).

The fact DARE has failed to garner provincial support from provincial
agencies is a surprise for McCreary-Burke because the program has been so
successful in the foothills region.

FSD is the only public school division in Alberta where the DARE program is
given to every student. DARE is offered to 1,100 students per year.

DARE Works Society president Wayne Meikle said it has taken time, but now
that the Grade 6 students who took DARE in the early years have reached
Grade 12 they are seeing tangible results of the prevention program.

"I think we are getting some results," said Meikle, who was a Town of
Okotoks councillor when the program began.

He said many high school students are developing their own crime prevention
programs such as Students Against Drinking and Driving (SADD).

The success of the local DARE program has received attention from schools
in Calgary and Bragg Creek who have asked the DARE Works Society to expand
to provide the program in their area.

So far the society has declined those requests due to a lack of resources.

The DARE program is also undergoing a transition from teacher-oriented to
more of a research project. Instead of the RCMP officers spending the
11-week program speaking to the students, now participants will be doing
research projects and teaching their peers about the curriculum.

The society, which introduced the Grade 8 program last year, is also
looking at developing a program for parents.

But the essence of the program is still drug and alcohol prevention and
building a relationship between youth and the local RCMP.

"Having the police in the school is a positive," said Meikle. "(The
students and the RCMP) have developed a wonderful relationship."