Pubdate: Thu, 03 Jul 2003 Source: Brownsville Herald, The (TX) Copyright: 2003 The Brownsville Herald Contact: http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1402 Author: Angeles Negrete Lares Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) WEED AND SEED OFFERS DRUG PREVENTION CAMP TO YOUTH Swimming lessons and other outdoor activities are not common methods of keeping children off drugs. Neither is visiting a U.S. Navy station. But that's exactly the approach Cameron County's Weed and Seed officials are taking with its free "Drug Education for Youth" summer camp. DEFY, which will be held July 21-25 at the Kingsville naval training station, is sponsored for the third straight year by the U.S. Department of Justice's Operation Weed and Seed, the Southern District's U.S. Attorney's Office, and the U.S Department of Navy. "To participate in the summer camp we're accepting applications for children between ages 9 to 12 years old and only 40 children can participate," said Weed and Seed Coordinator Elizabeth Limon Garza, whose organization is a federally funded program aimed at preventing crime and supporting community projects. Children participating in DEFY must live in the Southmost area "because the Weed and Seed program was designed to cover this part of the city," Limon said. DEFY started about 10 years ago, but it wasn't until 1999 that the Department of Justice established the camp for Brownsville children, program officials said. "The program was started in 1992 by the U.S. Navy for family members of Navy personnel during the summer," Limon said. The summer camp is Phase I of the DEFY program. Limon describes it as an intensive eight-day summer camp that promotes positive self-images, physical fitness, gang, and drug prevention classes. It also increases skills in interpersonal communication, conflict resolution and goal setting. "We want to provide to the kids the important tools they need to resist drugs, gangs and alcohol throughout the summer camp," she said. Phase II is a school mentoring program, which matches adult volunteers and those children that participated in the summer camp, Limon said. It takes place throughout the school year. "The focus of this phase is to reinforce the themes introduced in summer camp. The mentors and youth will meet for a minimum of four hours a month for workshops, field trips and special events," she said. "The discipline Marines have and their lifestyle and good manners make them excellent adults for the kids to look up to." For more information call at 548-7048. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin