Taking the drug-free pledge
MILFORD Fourteen students and their parents attended a “Reality Tour” on Sept. 12, and went on to take a pledge to be drug free. The Pike County Child Death Review Team sponsors the tour and its volunteers commended both students and parents for taking the time to educate themselves on the very real danger of drugs in our community. They said feedback from the participants was outstanding. The most impactful part of the tour was the talk given by a recovering addict - very powerful. One participant said, “Every parent should have to attend this tour!” The Child Death Review Team reviews all deaths occurring in Pike County from birth to age 21, in order to determine ways to prevent future deaths. The team has concluded that more drug prevention programs are needed in Pike County. The Child Death Review Team will sponsor their third Reality Tour on Oct. 17, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church in Milford. The tour is recommended for children 10 and up when accompanied by a parent. Advance reservations are necessary, as space is limited. Parental Consent is also required along with a $5 registration fee. Participants will follow the fate of a fictitious teen addicted to heroin. The tour includes a peer pressure scene, an arrest and prison experience as well as dramatic emergency room overdose scene and funeral scene. All of these scenes are performed live by community volunteers. A narrative by the “addict” precedes each scene including the constant reminder “I’m Just like You.” The overall message of the Reality Tour combats the youthful belief “It can’t happen to me.” Each attendee will be given a drug abuse profile to adopt during the program so that participants can become familiar with several different addictive drugs including the “gateway drugs.” If you would like to know more about this program, would like a registration form or are able to lend your support in any way, call Jill Gamboni at 570-296-3447. A demonstration of some of the scenes can be found at www.realitytour.com. You can also download a registration form for the Pike tour on this Web site. Consider attending or helping with this valuable resource in our community.