Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 6, Number 3, 1 March 1989 — New Substance Abuse [ARTICLE]

New Substance Abuse

June 1988 brought news from the U.S. Department of Education that our proposed Substance Abuse Prevention Education Program wasranked number one out of 296 applications nationwide and we were awarded $112,725 (see Ka Wai Ola O OHA, July 1988). OHA again matched the federal grant with $35,575 of its own funds and embarked on a joint educational effort with the Castle Medical Center, the Honolulu Poliee Department, and the Department of Education. In this project students, school personneI, and parents in 23 schools on Maui, Molokai, and Windward Oahu receive substance abuse prevention education. The project specifically targets fourth, sixth, and eighth grade students. The program consists of three major components: 1) a twoweek curriculum, 2) parent and school personnel workshops, and 3) a two-week summer program for intermediate school students. The two-week curriculum teaches students the most current factual information on smoking (tobacco and marijuana) and drug and aleohol use, combined with skill building exercises in decision making, "saying no," problem solving, and self esteem. The course gives students an opportunity to learn about the effects and dangers of drugs and aleohol objectively. The course also discusses the effects of drug and aleohol abuse on the family and in society. The workshops for parents and teachers provide information about the problems of smoking, aleohol and drug use among the youth of Hawai'i. The workshops are also designed to help parents and teachers play a role in substance abuse prevention. Along with factual information, parents and teachers are given examples of specific prevention activities they ean do.

The workshops held thus far have been very successful. On Moloka'i, project educator Clarrisa Mateo held a workshop to talk about the impact and concerns of aleohol and drug problems and the limited resources on the island. She had expected about 40 parents to attend, instead Clarrisa was overwhelmed when nearly 500 residents showed up, eager to learn about substance abuse prevention. Even though summer is still four months away, officers at the Honolulu Poliee Department are busy planning the summer prevention program. Two sessions will be held, one at the end of June and the other in early July. Approximately 100 students will be invited to eaeh session. The program will be conducted by officers trained in the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. The summer program is a combination of fun and education emphasizing group cooperation, self-esteem, problem solving, the development of social skills to resist peer pressure, and positive alternatives to substance abuse. The summer program will target seventh and eighth grade students who are potentially atrisk of becoming involved with drugs or aleohol. The highlight of the program will be a weekend eampout. There will be no charge for the program and participants will receive two t-shirts, luneh eaeh day, and transportation if needed.