Kids as young as 6 get anti-meth message
by Konstantinos Kalaitzidis on Jan. 08, 2007, under Education, LocalMeth use in Tucson has a new foe. The Boys and Girls Club here has joined the organization’s national effort called MethSmart.
Samantha Bossert, 17, is a graduate of the program and understands not only that methamphetamine is bad for you, but also why.
“We gathered in the (Boys and Girls Club) library and talked about it,” said the three-year member of the club.
“The problem was worse two years ago,” the Catalina Magnet High School senior said, adding that “most of the kids that used meth dropped out.”
The program was funded by a $500,000 appropriation by the state Legislature and tackles the issue of meth use in three age groups: 6 to 9, 10 to 13 and 14 to 18.
John Heitel, the president of the Arizona Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, said he doesn’t think there is any danger in telling kids as young as 6 about drugs such as meth.
Heitel said prevention, even for children as young as 6, is key.
There is also a parent involvement component, which includes discussions and PowerPoint presentations of ways parents and guardians of children can identify and resolve meth use problems.
Meth “is a problem our community has and it (the program) lets us know of ways to solve it,” said Juliet Yardy, 15, a freshman at Catalina High Magnet and four-year member of the club.
A survey of more than 60,000 Arizona youths from ages of 12 through 17, conducted by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission earlier this year, indicated 4.3 percent had tried the drug, including 1.6 percent having used it in the past 30 days.
It’s hard to know if meth use is up or down among Arizona’s youth, according to Shelly Mowrey, the programming and marketing director for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America’s Arizona chapter. This year’s survey, published in October, was the first time kids were asked specifically about meth. Mowrey said that in the past, meth was bundled with other stimulants.
“Nationally, we see meth rates going down with teenagers,” Mowrey said. “We all want lower meth use. Even one kid using meth is awful.”
That is where the club comes in, to help educate kids of the problem, said Roy Johnson Jr., director of operations for the Boys and Girls Club in Tucson.
“We want them to become more aware,” said the 24-year club veteran.
“Meth was a major problem here in Tucson. Our strategy is to raise awareness,” Johnson said. “We think of it as a long- term solution.”
The more kids learn of the dangers of meth use the less susceptible they will be to peer pressure, he said.
The program will run a minimum of a year, but the club, which serves some 6,000 children around the city, is planning for the effort to last for at least two years, he said.
Each one of the five locations the club has in Tucson held three sessions for each of the target age groups and a separate session for parents, Johnson said.
MethSmart is one of a series of Smart programs organized by the club that began about eight years ago, Johnson said. Other such programs are Smart Moves, Smart Kids, Start Smart and Smart Girls.
The Arizona Republic contributed to this article.
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Boys and Girls Club Tucson locations
● Frank and Edith Morton Club House, 3155 E. Grant Road., 573 3533
● Holmes Tuttle Club House, 2585 E. 36th St.. 622 0694
● Roy Drachman Club House, 5901 S. Santa Clara Ave., 741 9947
● Pascua Yaqui Club House, 5010 W. Calle Torim, 883 8172
● Steve Daru Club House, 1375 N. El Rio Drive, 792 0331
How to help
If you want to help the Boys and Girls Club of Tucson or be a volunteer, call Elizabeth Bollinger at 573 3533 or send email at info@bgctucson.org
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Boys and Girls Club of America online
http://www.bgca.org/
Boys and Girls Club of Tuscon online
http://www.bgctucson.org
To learn more about “The Event”
http://www.bgctucson.org/the_event/
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‘THE EVENT’
The Boys and Girls Club in Tucson organizes the event once a year to fund its activities. The 2007 event will be April 1 at the La Encantada mall, with the participation of 30 local restaurants and wineries and will feature live music.
