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Narconon Stone Hawk Making a Difference in Battle Creek, Michigan

The Narconon Stone Hawk rehabilitation center in Battle Creek, Michigan, weekly graduates students from the program who then are able to lead productive, drug-free lives. Kate Wickstrom, Executive Director, is also very aware of the importance of drug prevention. Thus, she and Tim Wells, Director of Drug Prevention, co-wrote the following article entitled Prevention is the Key:

"Oftentimes an addict will look back on his life and make the statement, '... if I only knew then what I know now.' We hear this a lot in our residential program at Narconon Stone Hawk. By the time a person enters the doors of the facility, he or she has often been using drugs since the age of 10, generally beginning with alcohol and pot. When a person finally decides to take control of his life and enter rehab, the average age is 36. That equates to 25 plus years of addiction. Try to imagine that--years and years!

Drug Prevention "'Teaching our children at young ages, starting in the 2nd or 3rd grade, is the key to possibly preventing them from a future of pain and devastation,' added Tim Wells, Director of Drug Prevention. 'It is my job to provide this service, and I am personally making this a community and countywide project; to get the word out to our young people.' Our presentations are based on factual science and decades of surveying teachers and youth to respond to their questions and interest.

"Narconon Stone Hawk's Drug Prevention Team has already provided workshops, lectures and information booths to well over 6,000 residents last year. Our surveys show that the information we provide has changed the perception of how most children view drug usage. 'Covering the harmful effects is only a part of the material,' says Tim (right picture), 'but often that is not enough. We get to the meat of it, explaining how it affects the character, what the barriers are, how goals are set, and consequences of usage.'

"We get to a level of understanding with the children, no matter what age. We provide them with information that penetrates their reality and gets them to think on the subject. The presentations and the materials are both enjoyable as well as educational. Allowing the kids to actually participate in the lectures aids in their understanding of what they are being taught. Lecturers are trained to also scan the audience and look for indicators via the child's facial expressions and body language. You can easily spot if a child is grasping what he is learning just by an expression on the face. When they are understanding, they tend to light up. If they don't understand, they will tend to have a blank look or act bored.

"The month of April launches an exciting new program in Battle Creek that will bring several entities together to provide prevention services to our youth. Narconon Stone Hawk, MADD, Washington Heights Community Ministries, Yes We Can, and Creekside Community House will be at the forefront of drug and alcohol issues facing this community. We are extremely encouraged by this as the program is geared for all ages and will be focused on prevention as well as abuse as we strive toward improving awareness.

"There are choices to be made even in prevention messages. Narconon® staff and their associates are answering the public choice for information regarding how to avoid drug experimentation and to aim for a drug-free life. There are others who have given up on even the concept of children choosing a drug-free future. But not us! We feel this is both a realistic and an achievable goal.

"In addition, Narconon Stone Hawk has been instrumental in forming a "Drug Free Kids Club" for children in grades 4 through 8 that will meet weekly. In addition, we will also be presenting monthly workshops on various drug and alcohol abuse and prevention topics, bringing in guest speakers from area businesses, civic groups and civil service agencies. We are working diligently toward our goal of educating our children and community. We encourage the community to be a part of our endeavor."

The website for Narconon Stone Hawk is http://www.narcononstonehawk.com