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A Message for Parents: The GUIDE

Earlier this year, the Sugarcreek Township Police Department began a mission. The mission . . . to find a drug prevention program for our community. As drug abuse generally begins in the middle and high school grades, we needed a program that would be used in the upper grade of middle school in preparation for high school. We needed a prevention program for our students. Because of this, we determined this drug prevention program should be personally developed to address the individual needs of our community.

With a great deal of teamwork, we developed...The Guide! The Guide program recruited experts in various fields of drug prevention, law enforcement, social services, youth services, drug rehab specialists, medical personnel and others in related fields. This program is designed with the sole purpose of educating the high school and middle school communities about the dangers of drug abuse and offers practical alternatives to using drugs. The Guide program will show our students how drug abuse can, and will, affect their lives. It will include views from the law enforcement community, the court system, health practitioners, educators, college and military recruiters as well as social workers.

The Guide program also reaches out to you, the parents, and will assist you on how to apply drug prevention techniques within your own families as well as how to recognize symptoms of drug abuse. The Guide will show you what resources are available to help “guide” your children through their academic careers. One goal of this program was to receive the support of local pharmacies, thus allowing us to educate parents through informational literature as they receive their prescriptions. To date, CVS, Walgreen and Kroger have agreed to include an informational pamphlet specially developed by The GUIDE.

This program has been added to the 2009-2010 curriculum at the Bellbrook Middle School and the Fairborn Middle School and will be taught throughout the school year. A Student Advisory Board has been put in place and includes the School Resource Officer and school faculty member participation. The Student Advisory Board will operate as a voice for the students and will play a key role in understanding the problems and influences teenagers face regarding drug abuse in the community.

A vital part of this program is to keep communication alive among agencies, parents and the community. We will maintain an on-going evaluation of current trends in drug abuse prevention techniques and applications as well as community awareness and participation. The Guide program will continually seek counsel and participation from social services and current drug prevention specialists to ensure the program is validated and endorsed.

Information on this program will be presented through town hall meetings, media coverage, promotional materials and endorsements for the program. The Guide program will also include classroom instruction, internet courses, displays and activities, hands-on exercises and real-life testimonials. The ultimate goal of this project is to reach out as mentors to our students and help guide them towards making the right decisions. As you know, decisions can last a lifetime and we hope you will join us as we continue to invest in our youth and their lifetime decisions.

For additional information, please contact:

Lieutenant James Deaton
Sugarcreek Township Police
4398 Clyo Road
Centerville, OH 45459
Phone: 937-848-3479

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