RCMP, GN team up on new drug prevention program

Constable Angelique Dignard says the RCMP’s Kids and Drugs is one of the few youth drug prevention programs in Canada that is targeted at adults. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

The RCMP and the Government of Nunavut have teamed up to bring a new national youth drug prevention program, called “Kids and Drugs,” to communities across Nunavut.

But this program isn’t targeted at youth – it’s aimed at their parents.

Building on drug education already taught in Nunavut’s schools through the Aboriginal Shield Program and DARE (drug abuse resistance program), the RCMP’s latest program wants adults to take the lead on promoting healthier lifestyle choices.

Kids and Drugs offers to train local facilitators, who in turn give workshops to adults and parents in their community.

“Children see, children do,” said Cst. Angelique Dignard at an information session in Iqaluit July 12. “If we empower the parents to be the role models that they are, we’re going to empower kids at the same time. Our ultimate goal is to strengthen the family as a whole.”

Dignard, who works with the RCMP’s drugs and organized crime unit, says the program also places the onus on the community to take responsibility for drug and alcohol abuse.

“This isn’t something we can just send in a police officer to teach,” she explained. “It’s a community-led program, which means we present it and if the community feels there is a need, they can deliver it.”

A “facilitator” must be someone who has experience working closely with the community – a teacher, a police officer, counsellor or social worker, for example.

A facilitator volunteers to take the RCMP’s training workshop, so they can then give a series of workshops to other adults in their community.

Dignard said parents may leave the workshop with a better idea of how to start a conversation with their child about substance abuse.

Other parents might learn to address their own anger towards their children’s behaviour, so youth aren’t scared to open up.

Through its parent and adult participation, Kids and Drugs hopes to reduce drug use among eight to 15-year-olds by delaying the onset of substance abuse.

That’s because the younger someone is, the more quickly they become addicted to certain intoxicants, Dignard said.

Due to the stage of their brain development, a young teenager can become addicted in a matter of days, she said, while that could take months for someone in their mid-twenties.

Delaying substance abuse also means a young person is able to make more mature choices.

“If this program can help delay a youth from drinking until they’re 19-years-old, that’s part of prevention,” Dignard said.

But Kids and Drugs in not intended as a drug intervention program, she said.

Alan Weeks, the chair of the Iqaluit District Education Authority, said he sees a place for Kids and Drugs in local schools and hopes to become a facilitator in the fall.

“Parents do care, and I think we can all agree that substance abuse is a problem in the territory,” he said. “One of roles is to support these kinds of programs.”

Kids and Drugs has over 300 facilitators across Canada. The program has also been translated into Spanish and implemented in Venezuela.

The program materials should be translated into Inuktitut soon, Dignard said.

Those interested in becoming a facilitator can contact Dignard at (867) 975-4787.