GEORGETOWN, Ohio — Thirty teens from all school districts in Brown County are banding together to help fight drug addiction.
“This is a result of the Sam Quinones visit that we had in September. This is a group of teens that were identified by the schools as being leaders in school and in prevention education,” said Becky Cropper of the Brown County Educational Services Center.
The group met at the BCESC in Georgetown on Tuesday. Their plan is to set goals and develop a peer education and training programs at each of the local school districts.
The group is also planning an activity later at the Brown County Fair to reach out to local teens.
“We know from research that peer leading peer prevention is where you really need to be. Teens will listen to other teens that they see as role models,” said Cropper.
“They see a peer that is trusted and valued and seen as a leader. They are willing to listen to them because they value that individuals opinion.”
Cropper said letting the community know what the group is doing is also important.
“You have 95 percent of teens that are not engaged in substance abuse. They are out there being part of positive groups in school and their daily lives. We just need to bring them into the light and let the community see that we have a group of really strong young leaders who are making a commitment to prevention education.”
Camryn Pickerill and Caitlyn Wills from Eastern High School are part of the group. Both of them said that they were very pleased to be part of the project.
“We’ve had so much fun. We’ve met new people and we all have a passion to make our community better,” said Wills. “We have learned some leadership skills and some ways to help combat the drug epidemic in our county. “
She added that information will be a powerful tool for the teens as they begin to make the prevention case for their peers.
“I feel like the more knowledgeable you are, the less likely you are to use illegal drugs and the less likely those around you are to use.”
Pickerill said that all options are on the table as the teens discuss ways to raise awareness.
“There are lot of activities that we are discussing like a county wide color run and other ways to spread the word that there are fun things you can do without them being illegal,” she said. “We want to show that people don’t have to do drugs to fit in. They can fit in in a positive way.”
She added that peer counseling can be very powerful.
“Some teenagers can get advice from an adult and be discouraged from it because they think the adult is trying to control them. But if they hear it from a friend, then they feel that they should do better instead of doing the negative things,” Pickerill said.
Deanna Vietze, director of the Brown County Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services, also said positive peer pressure is a very powerful tool.
“When it comes from someone their own age, they are going to listen a lot more. It’s normal for them to value the relationship of their peers rather than adults, so if their peers tell them something, they are going to value that,” she said. “The saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure applies here. Doing some prevention up front and trying to reach the kids before they go down the path of addiction will save money and lives in the long run.”
Cropper is also hopeful for the future success of the program.
“If we can help one young person make the correct decision, we have done our job. What we have here are 30 teens who are dedicated to helping their peers make those good decisions,” she said.
The partners for the group effort include the OSU Extension Service, the Brown County Board of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Brown County Educational Service Center.
Sponsors were the Foundation for Appalachia Ohio, Prevention Action Alliance and Interact For Health.
The teens that participated in the program came from schools including:
Eastern — Debi Shultz, Caitlyn Wills, Camryn Pickerill, R.J. Row, Noah Vargas, Caitlyn Helton
Georgetown — Olivia Waits, Grace Burrows, Maddi Benjamin, Blake Tolle, Aaron Teegarden, Joshua Galley
Western Brown — Mahala Johnson, Paige Correll, Amy Lewis, Kailey Moon, Natalie Kibler
Ripley — Emily King, Kristen Jenkins
Fayetteville — William Cornett
