BY AMY FLOWERS UMBLE
The family that plays together stays drug-free together.
That's the hope behind a new workshop coming to the Fredericksburg area.
The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board is looking for families to sign up for the program, which aims to prevent drug and alcohol use in children.
Parents and kids ages 2 to 5 will come together and play games, participate in arts and crafts and eat together in free, weekly workshops led by trained parent educators.
"It's a very open, supportive program that I think most families will be very comfortable with," said Laura Shoaf, who will coordinate the program for the RACSB.
DARE to Be You has been used in more than 40 communities around the country since it started in Colorado in 1979, said Jan Miller-Heyl, its national director.
Studies show it doesn't just prevent substance abuse in the children, she said. It also reduces parents' drug and alcohol use.
Miller-Heyl created the program 30 years ago simply because she had kids.
Back then, there were prevention programs that targeted kids and those which targeted parents. But none reached the entire family.
Miller-Heyl had studied chemistry, microbiology and physiology, and she considers the family a small ecosystem.
"I really do believe that using families is the most expensive way, but really is the most effective," she said. "It potentially has the longest-term impact and a broader impact."
The national DARE to Be You effort has many parts, including some for middle-schoolers and another that includes pregnancy prevention. But the local program will focus on preschool-age children, for now.
DARE to Be You will replace Program for Teen Parents, an RACSB service that was cancelled earlier this summer. RACSB used state drug-prevention funds to run the teen-parenting program, but the state agency overseeing substance-abuse programs said the money had to be used for a program with a more direct link to preventing substance abuse.
DARE to Be You is not geared to any one kind of family, Shoaf said.
Miller-Heyl added that it doesn't cater only to low-income or high-risk families.
"Yuppie families need it just as much as anyone else does," she said.
Amy Flowers Umble: 540/735-1973|
Workshops will be offered in Fredericksburg and the counties of Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford.
Locations, dates and times are not final, and input is desired. To participate in a survey, visit racsb.state.va.us on the Web. Everyone who completes a survey is eligible to win a $50 gift card. In addition to workshops, DARE to Be You will also offer training for day-care centers and preschools. If you're interested, call program coordinator Laura Shoaf at at 540/373-3223, ext. 3052. |