As summer break winds down, the Council for Drug Free Youth has new initiatives and partnerships launching for the 2017-18 school year.
"We're trying to switch the perception from 'everyone's doing drugs or drinking' to 'it's cool to be drug-free,'" CDFY Project Coordinator Melle Richardson said.
In efforts to reinforce positive images of what it means to be drug-free, high school seniors recognized as CDFY students of the month will receive a front row CDFY parking spot, be featured in the newspaper and have their stories shared on social media. CDFY parking spots will be available to seniors starting in September. So far, Jefferson City High School is the only site agreeing to be a part of the initiative, but all local high schools can get involved.
"The council looks at this as one way to encourage other youth to be drug-free and give their peers a way to connect with one another who they may have never known are drug- and alcohol-free," Richardson said. "Peer-to-peer comments about being drug-free are more valuable to the youth as opposed to adults reiterating the message."
To be considered as a student of the month, youth must write an essay sharing their experiences with substance abuse and be recommended by a school counselor; a teacher and parent signature is also needed to verify the student is drug-free.
"The purpose of this is to recognize them, support them and highlight for other students to see that there are benefits to being drug- and alcohol-free," CDFY Executive Director Joy Sweeney said. "Not to mention this will be visible to parents as they drive by, being a trigger for conversation for parents and their young ones."
In addition, CDFY has formed a new partnership with Lincoln University and will host two middle-school programs at The Linc.
Prior to this partnership, the Communication Offers Positive Enrichment (COPE) and TEAM programs met at Capital West Christian Church. Baseline, another CDFY program, targets freshmen and also will meet at The Linc.
COPE works with seventh-grade students to provide prevention information as well as decision-making and coping skills. Coordinated by the Missouri National Guard, TEAM program targets eighth-grade students, encouraging them to communicate prevention efforts while they learn about the dangers of substance abuse.
"This will be an amazing opportunity for the kids to experience what The Linc has to offer and will offer more space for our team-building activities," Sweeney said. "It's going to be a win-win all the way around, giving us an opportunity to become a part of this link in our community."
The new program location will be available starting in September as well.
In October, students of all ages can participate in Red Ribbon Week through the council's third annual video contest. Typically the video contest is open only to high school students, but this year, CDFY is implementing a poetry contest open to sixth- through eighth-graders.
The council currently is finalizing the judging criteria for both contests.
Sweeney noted opportunities for business owners and other community organizations to receive support from the council in substance abuse and prevention events. For example, they can provide drug-free signage, offer support group resource information, as well as training for employees who may want to learn how to help youth in prevention efforts.
"The more we can communicate to the whole community that this is a community issue, we can solve this problem together," Sweeney said.