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!i CA i 40 Edward Byrne Memorial State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Formula Grant Program The PREVENT program attempts to involve youth by having conversations, not lectures, encouraging youth to express thoughts, ideas and feelings about important issues. This enables the PREVENT program not only a means to collect data, assess needs and interventions, but also allows us to take a good look at youth's perception of "risk". This program is open enough to allow youth to discuss critical issues they are facing in everyday life. PREVENT empowers youth to loam the skills necessary to make smart decision. By providing youth with opportunities for healthy decision, they can loam to make safe choices. Early intervention can help lessen fears of youth. In turn it teaches youth, if smart decisions are not made, that drugs, alcohol, smoking, violence and sex can be unhealthy. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION PREVENT combines outreach and group support to reacts economically disadvantaged youth. These youth are ages 13-10; who have repeated failure in school and/or little commitment to scl'aool; do not have a supportive environment; and whose lack of decision making skills may lead them to abuse tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. The Council's mission reads: 'The Substance Abuse Council is committed to preventing the use o{Jlticit drugs and abuse of addictive, min-adleffng substances! The Substance Abuse Council, a not-for-profit substance abuse prevention agency, proposes to Initiate the described project through a comprehensive range of substance abuse and educational activities for males and females with substance abuse problems. Daily program services will be provided by a full time program coodinator and a licensed mental health counselor. Two different components will constitute ttie PREVENT program. The components are as follows: 1. Crisis Intervention and Counseling 2, TARGET Troupe participation The first component of the PREVENT program will be compdsed of Crisis Intervention/ Counseling. Tile program will be cyclical in nature, servicing approximately 15 offenders per cycle. Each treatment and t education cycle will last for ten (10) weeks. Evaluation of adolescents identified via psycho -socials will be conducted. Adolescents selected from this group will be assigned to the Crisis Intervention and Counseling component. Substance abuse counseling and education will consist of two group therapy sessions a week, and one aftercare session weekly focused on relapse prevention. There will also be family workshops conducted at SAC for family members during the treatment cycte- Once the ten week cycle is completed, Aftercare will be conducted weekly.The Aftercare component is structured to focus on relapse prevetnion and life skills development. The second component will be TARGET troupe. The TARGET troupe actively develops innovative and high energy skits related to life issues they and their peers are facing. The troupe has created a collections of 30 different skits for performances. The troupe continues to develop skits dealing with issues on substance abuseluse, dieting (anoxeha and bulimia), 111V/AIDS, pregnancy and violence. The TARGET troupe members are mentors to Cather youth, as well as friends, family and neighbors within the community. Participants in the TARGET troupe need not have any previous acting experience, just a desire to participate. In many cases, we find that high risk youth become the best performers. Their presentations via improvisation is not acting„ but is real and from the heart. 60% of the youth participating in the TARGET troupe have never had any formal training in acting, Subpranf Ap[*caUan Sardon 7' - papa 5 of 16