STRONG MESSAGE

Many events designed to attract young people's attention will be occurring
this week as part of Drug and Alcohol Awareness Week. There will be fun
times as students participate in a carnival at JP Dallos Middle School,
dive for loonies during a swim at the recreation complex, or take part in a
march at Sliammon First Nation's reserve.

The events this week are significant because of the community involvement.
For the JP Dallos carnival alone, Powell River Rotary built the booths for
the event, and other organizations, including the Loyal Order of the Moose,
Powell River Lions Club, Kiwanis Club, Sliammon Health Society, and
Insurance Corporation of BC Road Sense Team, contributed to the event along
with school parent advisory councils from JP Dallos, Oceanview, and the
district and the school board.

Events such as the ones planned this week bring home the truth in the
well-known slogan, "It takes a community to raise a child." Without the
broad participation of the wider community, the events wouldn't happen and
the week would be marked on a much smaller scale.

Focussing on the dangers inherent in drinking and taking drugs is crucial
in small communities where, all too often, there is not much for young
people to do. The lure of alcohol and drugs becomes even more powerful when
adolescents look for something to do. While there are activities in Powell
River, such as church youth groups, athletic organizations, or
school-sponsored events, not all the activities appeal to all young people.

Many teenagers turn to drinking and taking drugs, not only because of peer
pressure, but because those activities hold the allure of the forbidden and
the appeal of excitement. This phenomenon is not new, nor is it confined to
Powell River. It happens in many small towns in North America and it has
happened for generations.

While many parents discuss and work with their children to counteract the
magnetic draw of engaging in, or abusing, alcohol and drugs, it takes wider
community support to bring that message home and make it stick.

That kind of support is in clear evidence this week and Powell River is a
better place for it.