Upcoming Reality Tour - volunteers needed

MILFORD The Child Death Review Team will present their second Reality Tour on Sept. 12, from 1 to 4 p.m., at the First Presbyterian Church in Milford. The Child Death Review Team reviews all deaths occurring in Pike County from birth to 21 years in order to determine ways to prevent future deaths. The team has determined that more drug prevention programs are needed in Pike County. This is an evidence based program and has the support of the Pike County Commissioners, the Pike County District Attorneys Office, The Delaware Valley School Board and numerous non-profit and business organizations of Pike County. 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 five dollar 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 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.” The team says it is grateful for the support and volunteers it has received from the community. It is still in need of more volunteers, especially youth ages 10-18, for the peer pressure scenes. The team leaders will have a training session for new volunteers and a mock “run through” of the scenes for current volunteers on Aug. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Milford. To find out more about this program, to get a registration form, or to lend 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. A registration form for the Pike tour can also be downloaded at this Web site.