Pubdate: Sun, 12 Jul 2015
Source: Fresno Bee, The (CA)
Copyright: 2015 The Fresno Bee
Contact:  http://www.fresnobee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/161
Note: Does not publish letters from outside their circulation area.
Author: Rory Appleton

CHILDREN, PARENTS GET INTERACTIVE LOOK AT DRUG ABUSE DURING FRESNO REALITY TOUR

Nearly 200 people on Saturday witnessed the dramatic journey of an 
average high school student whose drug use lands him first in jail, 
then in a casket as part of the Reality Tour's stop in Fresno.

Fresno's version of the nationwide project was hosted by Edison High 
School and featured performances by Edison students. It was arranged 
by the Fresno Police Department and the California Health 
Collaborative's Performing Above the High (PATH) Project, which is 
funded by the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health.

"This is a huge part of our crime intervention strategy," said Fresno 
police Capt. Mike Reid, who presented at the event. "Kids get an 
interactive look into the downside of drugs before they become 
involved with them."

The event was the second one hosted by this partnership at Edison. 
Last year's tour drew about 150 people. They will host another event 
in southeast Fresno in September.

This was the fifth drug awareness event hosted by PATH in Fresno County.

Daisy Lopez, program manager for PATH, said the event differs from 
many "scared straight" programs in that it involves both parents and 
children. The information and dramatizations are meant to have an 
emotional impact and spark more conversation about drug use at home, she added.

Sharon Williams said she brought her grandchildren, 14-year-old 
Johnnie Wilson and 13-year-old Jamiana Deloney, to the tour because 
she's seen the toll drug abuse takes on people.

"I worked in corrections for 14 years," she said. "I wanted to keep 
them safe and informed. I don't ever want them to be able to say, 'I 
didn't know' what drugs could do."

For Manuel Escandon, the trip served two purposes.

The first was a scouting mission. Escandon is director of student 
intervention and prevention at the Fresno County Office of Education, 
and he wanted to check out the program to see if similar ones could 
be implemented throughout the county.

The other reason was to educate his two daughters, Emma, 13, and 
Victoria, 14, about drug abuse.

The two families and dozens of others were led through Edison on a 
four-part tour through the perils of drug use.

A skit portrayed a party in which some students were coaxed into 
doing drugs, while another group left the party and invited the 
audience to give an emphatic "No!" response to the drug dealer's solicitations.

Next, the group was led into a long hallway where officers stopped 
them. The police department had a report that someone in the group 
had a large amount of drugs in their backpack, the officers said, and 
they needed everyone to place their bags on the floor.

A K-9 unit found a bag of drugs in a blue backpack, and two parents 
spoke up to identify the bag as their son's. The boy was arrested and 
led out of the hall, with his fictional parents yelling questions in 
disbelief as they followed behind.

The tour then stopped off at a room where the boy was held in a 
large, dramatic jail cell. A recording explained the teen's journey 
from an average middle school kid to an addicted high school student 
who stole to support his habit and sold drugs to his friends and classmates.

The crowd was then ushered into a second room disguised as a 
hospital. The boy had been bailed out of jail by his parents, the 
recording said, but he had no intention of stopping.

The recording detailed the boy's night out with his cousin, also a drug user.

"There were Oxycontin and Percocet - I took a whole bunch of pills," 
the recorded voice said. "And then, it's like I left my body, and it 
all went black."

The boy was rushed into the room in a stretcher, where doctors 
attempted to resuscitate him. He died as his frantic parents entered the room.

A classroom-turned-funeral home was the final stop. A man and several 
teenagers in suits and dresses urged the audience members to sign the 
ledger as they entered the room and fixed their eyes on a fake casket 
decorated with flowers, a teddy bear and a framed collection of baby pictures.

The parents and friends of the recently departed teen wept and 
apologized to the casket. The scene drew many solemn glances and even 
a few tears from the audience, who were urged to touch the casket and 
pay their respects on the way out.

Andrew Prindiville, a 17-year-old Bullard High School senior, capped 
off the event by telling the audience about his own experience with drugs.

Prindiville said he started smoking marijuana at 12 and later moved 
onto Oxycontin at 14 and finally methamphetamine at 15.

"I went to inpatient rehab, but I didn't get sober," he said. "I 
didn't want to be sober."

Prindiville was arrested at 16 and served six months at a juvenile 
facility, where he finally kicked his habit. He's spent the last 
three months speaking at inpatient rehabilitation programs weekly, 
but Saturday's event marked the first time he would ever speak about 
it to such a large crowd.

"I do this more for myself than others," Prindiville said. "It's good 
to help people, but this is an important part of me staying sober."

Prindiville's mother, Kerry, was sitting next to him near the stage.

"It was a very tough couple of years, but I'm proud of him," she 
said. "It helps with the healing process, and this whole experience 
has grown us closer."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom