Cherie DeBurger, President of Wallaceburg Drug Awareness, and Darren Strank, Coordinator of Chatham-Kent Drug Awareness, spoke to the Rotary Club of Wallaceburg on Thursday, April 16th.
The Chatham Drug Awareness program has been around since the late 1980’s.
Cherie helped start a group in Wallaceburg; and there are now groups in all Chatham-Kent communities.
Drug abuse and addiction is a problem in Wallaceburg, and in communities all over Canada.
Addicts can come from all walks of life.
Peer pressure is one factor that can introduce youth the drugs.
It’s important to get people to understand that it can happen to anyone, from any family.
It is very important to begin educating kids about drug use and abuse at an early age; the earlier the better.
Any leftover prescription drugs should not just be thrown away in the garbage, where anyone can get at it.
They should be turned in to a pharmacy for safe disposal.
The group has a facility where kids from ages 12 to 18 can come in to hang out.
There is always at least one volunteer and one committee member on site. It is a place where they can feel safe, and open up to talk about their problems.
They have games and activities, and computers for kids to use. They help educate people about drug use and try to provide help to those with problems.
The Youth Drop-In space is available Wednesday evenings from 6-9 p.m. at the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centre in Wallaceburg.
– Submitted story
– Submitted photo: Darren Strank, Cherie DeBurger, President Sussan Londry and Mike Zell.
