Pubdate: Thu, 25 Jan 2007
Source: Sampson Independent, The (NC)
Copyright: 2007, The Sampson Independent
Contact:  http://www.clintonnc.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1704
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

TESTING THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR OUR CHILDREN

There are some programs you wish never had to be put in place but, at 
the same time, are glad they are available.

Such is the case with S.A.S.S.Y (Substance Abuse Screening Saves 
Youth), a program spearheaded by Sampson County Schools and supported 
by our local 4-H program, the Methamphetamine Task Force and 
Eastpointe Behavioral Healthcare. It is designed to help parents keep 
a check on children they suspect may be drug users.

The service is free, thanks to a grant, and provides drug testing 
kits to each of the county's four middle schools. Those kits are 
distributed to parents at their request and used in the privacy of 
their own homes. Every aspect of the program is confidential and 
designed as a drug prevention tool.

We are glad to see local officials taking such a proactive approach 
to such a serious and, unfortunately, growing problem -- that of 
young people being active participants in drug use. And we encourage 
parents to take advantage of this program, not as a way to punish 
your child but as a way to help them.

Parents always find it difficult to believe that their child is a 
drug user and, even when all the signs are there, they try 
desperately to buy the stories their youngsters give them about why 
their behavior has changed, their moods are different and their 
grades are slipping.

This program gives parents an avenue that allows youngsters to prove 
their assertions or confirm their parents worst fears. But 
confirmation is the first step to the intervention and prevention 
that is needed to get our young people back on the right track before 
it is too late.

As sad as it is, the realities of the society we now live in makes it 
necessary for programs such as S.A.S.S.Y to be put into place. And we 
should be glad they are, particularly if you are a parent.

No, it's not the kind of thing you want to use. No it's not a 
feel-good type program. But it is an important program and one that 
can make a huge difference in the life of a child and in the life of a family.

It is true that using these drug-testing kits can bridge a growing 
gap between parents and their drug-using children. It is true that it 
can be the life raft needed to save a youngster from years of use and abuse.

No one wants to believe their child has turned to drugs. But parents 
should want to know that it is happening. Now they have a way to find out.

We applaud Sampson County Schools, 4-H, the Meth Task Force and 
EastPointe for taking a proactive approach to a very serious problem. 
The difference it can make is vital in the lives of our young people.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman