Volunteer group cares about drug and alcohol abuse by Dubois County kids

ByWITZ AM/FM Reading Time: 2 minutes

Dubois County CARES, or Coalition for Adolescent Resilience and Empowerment Strategies, held the first of four meetings planned for April at the Northeast Dubois Middle School.

Two years in the making, the newly announced organization was formed to deal with alcohol and drug use among students in our schools.

Seeded two years ago by a series of meetings about drug and alcohol abuse held by concerned parents in Jasper, Dubois County CARES has grown into a full-fledged group advocating for students and the challenges they face with substance abuse.

There’s plenty of statistics that point to the need. From the presentation Monday night at the Northeast Dubois Middle School, attendees learned that:

· Out of the 2015 graduates from all schools in the county, 40 percent (119 students) admitted to drinking alcohol every week by their senior year.
· 71 of those same students admitted to binge drinking.
· Marijuana use begins as early as sixth grade or 11 years of age.
· Among the top rated concerns by students: stress, gossiping and rumors, friendships, achievement in school, career or college choices, depression/anxiety, bullying/violence, drug use, and tobacco use.

The mission of Dubois County CARES is to empower youth to be alcohol and drug-free and open lines of communication between family members.

The coalition, which has roughly 70 members, bases its work off the findings from the Indiana Youth Survey. The survey not only asks about students personal use of drugs and alcohol, but also the perceived risk and ease of acquiring the substances students associate with use.

Dubois County repeatedly sees results higher than state averages, particularly with alcohol use.

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Due to the consistent results of the volunteer survey, the group feels the students are truthful with their answers.

In total, around 50 people attended the first of four meetings on the topic.

Meetings will be held on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, April 13th at the Jasper Middle School
    Monday, April 18th at the Southridge Auditorium
    Wednesday, April 27th at the Tri-County YMCA in Ferdinand
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