For Denise Gillam, working with the Council for Drug Free Youth (CDFY) has been a family affair.
Gillam has been with CDFY for 10 years; and while she does many jobs, her primary role is director of the Safety Kids Program.
The program has been around for nearly 30 years and involves fifth-grade students in both private and public schools performing in 25 schools.
"We do 30-minute assemblies in the fall," Gillam said. "We have music and skits about a drug-free life. We want them to make good choices."
Gillam works with 50 students now in this program; and both of her children - Marie, 15, and David, 14 - help plan the shows for the Safety Kids Program.
"We have a week-long camp in the summer with the kids to learn the show because we can't do it during the school year," she said. "Our family is passionate about music, so this has been a good fit for us because we all like to perform."
CDFY is a community coalition that began in 1983 as an active group of concerned parents seeking to fight the problem of alcohol and other drug abuse among youth.
CDFY officials said parental education and involvement are often the keys to fighting the problem of alcohol and other drugs in the community. It is a problem that exists in every city in America, and Jefferson City is no exception. They said alcohol is the drug of choice among Jefferson City
teenagers. Nights and weekends at their own home, at a friend's house or in cars are times when alcohol is most frequently abused.
The desire of the coalition is to inform and educate the community of the challenges and consequences of drugs and other unhealthy life choices of local youth. CDFY works with community partners to provide inclusive activities that support youth and show them that an alcohol and drug-free life is not only possible but fulfilling. CDFY empowers youth to stand up and support one another, to live healthy and drug free.
Gillam said while drugs and alcohol haven't touched their family, there have been several occasions when parents have called them to talk to their children who are going through problems.
"I think that speaks to the trust people have in the program that they seek us out to talk to their kids," she said. "It's nice to see how much we've touched families. We'll talk to parents, and they say how their kids still talk about their experiences. It's hard to be a teenager. It's nice in some small way we affected their future paths so they can be a role model for other kids as they get older."