Drug-Abuse Prevention Program Aimed At Teens

Thu., Jan. 13, 2000

By Carlos Acevedo carlosa@spokesman.com

A new South Side after-school program promises to help troubled teens while providing valuable data that could mold future substance-abuse prevention programs.

Located at the East Central Community Center, The Youth Enrichment Service () is a free program designed to make teens heathy, confident and successful.

“This is a safe place for teens,” said program coordinator Mary Bartol.

Activities include drug prevention and life skills training, field trips and opportunities for parents to participate, Bartol said.

“These are all proven elements of prevention,” she said.

Participants have good things to say.

“I think coming here keeps us out of trouble,” said 13-year-old Carrie Collette. “But, basically, it’s just fun.”

At , everyone is included in activities. Collette, who has attended since the program started in November, said that makes each teen feel valued.

Mentoring is also part of the program. The teens spend time with younger children at the center and at SpokAnimal, where they care for puppies.

Funded by a three-year federal grant that includes 14 other states, is one of 18 testing grounds in Washington where researchers hope to gather data that will help them improve prevention efforts.

“Prevention has been a pretty dataless field for a long time,” said Adrienne Brownlow, the grant’s local coordinator. Over the next three years, she will gather data on the teens’ health, family relationships, school achievement and employment skills and forward the results to state researchers.

Bartol said there are still 15 openings in . Participates must agree to attend for one year.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center also is starting an after-school program, called Youth 2000, through the grant. That center is currently looking for 35 participants.

AT A GLANCE More information For more information, call the East Central Community Center at 625-6696 or the Martin Luther King Jr. Family Outreach Center at 455-8722

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