Student Assistance and Drama Programs to Receive 2000 Prevention & Education Awards

National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Friday, 18 August 2000

A well-established, voluntary student assistance program that serves youth in urban, suburban and rural communities and a school theater group that vividly dramatizes the consequences of drinking and driving will receive prevention and education awards from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD), to be presented at NCADD's annual Conference of Affiliates in New Orleans October 19-20.

Youth Alive and Free (YAF), a program developed by the Alcohol and Drug Council of Middle Tennessee, NCADD's Nashville Affiliate, will receive a meritorious award. YAF uses trained alcohol and drug counselors to make presentations during school assemblies and to work with teachers to identify risk behaviors and make appropriate referrals. YAF also trains students, known as Peer Leaders, who sign a commitment to remain drug- and alcohol-free and to serve as positive role models. They raise awareness of alcohol and drug problems all year round through a monthly series of creative educational activities.

Youth Alive and Free offers a comprehensive approach to prevention including a special day that celebrates the benefits of a drug-free lifestyle. Counselors also organize participation in Red Ribbon and Violence Awareness Weeks, and Prom Promise. Peer Leaders have begun to reach out to younger students as well with an after-school mentoring program.

Drama Troupe 2000, a program developed by the Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse for Greater New Orleans (CADA) will receive a commendation award. Under supervision of a CADA liaison and their drama teacher, ten gifted high school students wrote, directed and produced "Take A Chance," a 15-minute play that shows how family dynamics, peer pressure and poor decision making can lead to tragic results on prom night. 5,000 local teenagers of diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds are expected to see the play during performances at a variety of public, magnet and private parochial schools.

The NCADD Prevention and Education Awards Program began in 1977 and now is judged by a panel of NCADD Affiliate executive directors. All NCADD Affiliates are eligible to apply; entries are judged according to background and significance; goals and objectives; activities and approaches; program management; coordination; ease of replication; and evaluation.

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions. Founded in 1944 by Marty Mann, the first woman to find long-term sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, NCADD provides education, information, help and hope to the public. It advocates prevention, intervention and treatment through offices in New York and Washington, and a nationwide network of Affiliates.

For more information, or to contact National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, see their website at: www.ncadd.org