Pubdate: Thu, 08 Mar 2001
Source: Nelson Daily News (CN BC)
Copyright: 2001 Nelson Daily News
Contact:  266 Baker Street, Nelson, British Columbia V1L 4H3
Fax: (250) 352-2418
Website: http://www.nelsondailynews.com/
Author: Bob Hall

CITY POLICE DARE-ING STUDENTS

As this year's crop of Heritage City Grade 6 students ready 
themselves for the big jump to junior high in September, Nelson City 
Police are helping prepare the pre-teens with knowledge they will 
need to deal with the struggles of an adolescent world.

In January NCP Constables Bill Andreaschuk and Paul Burkart began the 
Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program at Central Elementary 
and Hume Elementary in an attempt to help lessen the blow of the peer 
pressure and tough choices which are inevitable for teenagers.

"Yes there's pressure and I think there will be more [pressure] when 
we go to Trafalgar," says 12-year-old Central student Chelsy Buerge. 
"It's good that we get this now so that we have time to make choices 
and stuff."

DARE began in Los Angles in 1983 and since that time has been 
implemented in 80 per cent of schools south of the border and 
programs have been developed in 52 countries around the world.

Locally DARE was brought to the NCP by Andreaschuk, who introduced 
the program to rural BritishColumbia in 1997 while an RCMP officer in 
Prince George. When he signed-on with the NCP this summer, 
Andreaschuk brought his enthusiasm for DARE to the local force and 
after Burkart took the  training they brought the 17-week program to 
schools in January.

"The goal of the program is to give children the proper tools to make 
informed decisions and also give them the ability to deal with the 
peer pressures they are going to deal with throughout the rest of 
their lives," Andreaschuk explains.

Most people associate DARE with former U.S. First Lady Nancy Reagan 
and the whole "Just Say No" campaign which was so prominent in the 
mid-1980s. Andreaschuk says the anti-drug message is there, but DARE 
goes far beyond illegal narcotics.

"It's much, much more than an anti-drug campaign," he says. "Although 
the drug awareness aspect is very important with the program, the 
idea is not to just go in and tell the kids that it's bad and don't 
do it. We give them the tools to combat all the pressures that are 
going to be exhibited upon them to try drugs, to try cigarettes, to 
become members of gangs. This isn't just about drugs, it's about 
making informed decisions."

Once a week Andreaschuk heads to Central and Burkart to Hume for an 
hour of discussion, workbook lessons, role playing and group 
activities. It's that time dedication which Andreaschuk says is key 
to the success of the program.

"We're not going in for an hour and telling them that these things 
are bad and don't do it, then walk away from them," says Andreaschuk, 
who spent eight years in the Nelson area as an RCMP. "We're in the 
classroom for 17 weeks and we're working with them every week, so I 
think it's the prolonged exposure and the trust that is built up 
between the police and the students. The message eventually starts to 
get through to them."

Andreaschuk says DARE educators are naive and don't expect that every 
Grade 6 student who completes the program is going to live a life 
free of drugs, alcohol and violence. However, he says research has 
proven that the program has had an impact since its inception in 1983.

"It's one of those things where you never dream of having 100 per 
cent success," says Andreaschuk, a 26-year law enforcement veteran. 
"Some of the kids may show an immediate result, some kids it may not 
show up for a few years and others it may not show up until 
adulthood, but what we are doing is planting a seed in their mind."

Central Grade 6 teacher Ann McDonnell says the first two months of 
the program have been great.

"I think it's really important and I think it's the perfect age," 
McDonnell says. "Hopefully we are catching them before any of this 
stuff is a temptation. Anytime you can plant a seed, it's a good 
idea."

Teaching kids about the pressures they will face during adolescence 
is part of the regular curriculum, but McDonnell says having NCP 
officers come in to reinforce the information makes the message that 
much more clear.

"Having a police officer deliver the information puts a lot of weight 
behind the message," she says.

So far the message does seem to be getting through many of the students.

"Just about everybody will probably need this information some time 
or another," says 11-year-old Central student Connor Marisco.

Andreaschuk says not only have students, parents and teachers shown 
enthusiasm towards the program, but community service clubs and 
businesses have also signed-on. The Nelson Kiwanis Club provided seed 
money to get the program going and coming to a street near you will 
be a DARE vehicle sponsored by Nelson Toyota and Western Auto 
Wreckers.
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MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe