Substance Abuse Prevention Programs for Schools and Communities

• MAKING CHANGE – Dealing with addiction
• MATTERS OF SUBSTANCE – Friends help friends stay safe
• WHAT DO YOU LOSE, WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO USE?

Chemical dependence is an illness with a progression of symptoms and a corresponding set of opportunities for supportive interventions. Second Growth has been instrumental in developing effective prevention and early intervention resources for adolescents in both school and community settings. Our training programs keep it simple and get practical in a hurry giving participants a clear understanding of what they can do to help out without getting in over their heads.

MAKING CHANGE – Dealing with addiction
A day-long workshop for adult leaders of adolescent substance-abuse groups, this program will share all our “Making Change” scripts and strategies: a resource for young people who are considering or committed to recovery. Not AA or NA, but an experience that encourages 12-step involvement, this is a starting point to engage young people in a dialogue about choices. “Making Change” groups feature information, motivation, and peer support in a straightforward style that uses a structured format to address some of the most critical issues of early recovery for young people.

MATTERS OF SUBSTANCE – Friends help friends stay safe
The life-threatening consequences for teens that abuse alcohol or other drugs can precede an awareness of how close to the edge they are, and how far they can fall. Peers are usually the first to know when trouble is in the works, but few have the skills, knowledge, experience, or motivation to help.
In this workshop, case histories will illustrate the dangerous reality of driving under the influence, alcohol poisoning and drug overdose, assault and dating violence, depression and suicide, and gang activity. The “ask more than you tell” tone of the activities will focus on how and why to help a friend with a substance-abuse problem before it is too late.

WHAT DO YOU LOSE, WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO USE?
Caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, inhalants, over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, and marijuana are common drugs that adolescents abuse. The epidemic of young heroin and cocaine addicts brings great urgency to the task of reaching teens more effectively before the problem starts.
Most young people have heard the facts presented for years, but they still find it difficult to connect what they know with what they are doing. “What You Lose” is a discussion of techniques for getting teens emotionally involved with information that can make a significant difference in their lives, designed to support caring adults in the challenging task of helping teens to translate their knowledge of the “gateway drugs” into safe and sound choices.