By BRIDGET COOK
A CRANBOURNE church will host a program next month based around the belief that informed parents are the best prevention against children using drugs.
TurningPoint Church will host a drug education, prevention and intervention program entitled How to Drug Proof Your Kids, starting on Tuesday 22 July.
The program, created by not-for-profit organisation Focus on the Family Australia, aims to inform parents how to reduce the potential risk factors and help prevent the use of drugs by their children.
Focus on the Family Australia executive director Glenn Williams said research showed that parent education and involvement dramatically reduced the risk of young people taking drugs by nearly half.
He said that the program’s focus was on prevention and early intervention.
“This program is in response to the hundreds of concerned parents who have contacted our office, frightened for their children and families, and frustrated in their attempts to help their children,” he said.
“This program is for every parent crying out ‘tell me how’.”
The award-winning program consists of six, two-and-a-half hour sessions which are designed to equip parents with practical communication skills, critical strategies and an action plan to help their children make good lifestyle choices.
Included in the professional course manual is an overview of Australia’s drug problem, why kids take drugs, how to educate children to make good choices, prevention tools for parents, how to intervene and where to get help and a guide to handling relapses.
The program, led by trained facilitator Ann Newman, also includes statistical information, counselling referral services and access to a library of educational resources.
How to Drug Proof Your Kids will begin on Tuesday 22 July and will be held at TurningPoint Church, 1785 South Gippsland Highway, Cranbourne.
It will start at 7pm and will run each Tuesday for six weeks.
Cost is $50 for a single and $70 for a couple and bookings are required.
For more information contact 5996 3048.
