Pubdate: Wed, 01 Nov 2006
Source: Rome News-Tribune (GA)
Copyright: 2006sRome News-Tribune
Contact:  http://www.romenews-tribune.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1716
Author: Jennifer Wyatt

OUR PLACE PROVIDES ALCOHOL, DRUG AWARENESS

It started out as a get-together. People with drug or  alcohol 
problems would meet at Mt. St. Francis to play  softball and 
basketball in a drug-free environment.

Then, they turned to education when they saw their  children facing 
the same problems they were trying to  overcome. Five years later in 
1986, the project became  Our Place Drug and Alcohol Education 
Services Inc. -- a  nonprofit organization, making their focus families.

"We truly understand how drug and alcohol abuse affects  the family 
from the youngest child on up," said  MeriBeth Adams-Wolf, executive 
director of Our Place.  "So we address the issue as a family issue, 
not one  where we address it as a vacuum where you pull the 
individual out and talk only about their choices and  the risks they face.

For 25 years, Our Place has provided prevention and  intervention 
programs for youth, adults and families  affected by drug and alcohol 
abuse. The first program  to develop through Our Place is the Youth, 
Individual  and Family Drug and Alcohol Education Program. It's an 
early intervention program that Adams-Wolf said is the  heart of Our Place.

"The purpose of it is to not take the focus off the  substance abuse, 
but to kind of broaden the view of  it," said Danny Ferguson, program 
coordinator.

Ferguson said that many times alcohol and drug abuse  are caused by 
not being able to cope with anger, pain  and stress -- so the program 
looks at all these areas  to help the individual live a better lifestyle.

They start educating children as early as second grade  with the 
Beginning Addictions Basic Education Studies  Program, or BABES.

"If we can get to them sooner with some information, we  could maybe 
be able to prevent more of a problem and  not wait until they are 
adolescents or teenagers and  already struggling with some of the 
issues," Adams-Wolf  said.

The BABES program was the second program to develop  from Our Place. 
Through the use of seven puppets and  other visuals, this six week 
program teaches students  at participating schools such things as how 
to deal  with emotions, peer pressure and the consequences and  myths 
of drinking.

"They get really enthralled by these puppets," said Amy  Adams, BABES 
program coordinator. "It's amazing to me  sometimes. They really ask 
questions."

They also provide an after-school prevention program  geared toward 
10- to 14 year-olds at New Albany-Floyd  County Consolidated School 
Corp. called Afternoons Rock  in Indiana. Another program called The 
Journey focuses  on 12- to 18 year-olds who have become chemically dependent.

The nonprofit also works to prevent teen pregnancy with  its Project 
Respect program.

Some programs at Our Place are partially funded by the  Metro United 
Way. The Metro United Way funding also  allows the organization to 
charge fees for the  Individual and Family Education Program on a 
sliding  scale based on a client's income.

"That's why we struggle from time to time because we  want to provide 
the service and we can't always get  payment for it," Adams-Wolf 
said. "And we have  expenses, but thank goodness for Metro United 
Way. Truly without that funding these programs would not  exist."
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MAP posted-by: Elaine