SAFE of Chesterfield gets award

Chesterfield is a safer place for teens than it was three years ago, in part because of an organization known as SAFE.

Programs developed by the Substance Abuse Free Environment organization have produced a 44 percent decrease in the number of eighth-graders involved in inhalant abuse since 2005, a reduction that's being recognized by a national "Got Outcomes" award from Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America.

The results are detailed in SAFE's annual report for 2007-08, which is available online at www.chesterfieldsafe.org. The award will be presented in February at the anti-drug coalition's annual meeting.

Chesterfield participated in a drug abuse survey in 2005 for the first time in more than a decade, said Wayne Frith, executive director of SAFE. When the results came back, eighth-graders reported inhalant abuse at twice the national average.

"Literally nobody in the community had any clue that we had any significant problem, not even the people in substance abuse and prevention," Frith said. "We had to move very quickly to educate ourselves, which we did, and then we decided the next step was to educate the adults in our community, which we did. That has yielded the change."

Eighth-graders are in the peak age group for inhalant abuse, said Sharyl Adams, substance abuse prevention specialist for Chesterfield Youth Planning and Development. By the time students reach 10th grade, they are more likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs.

In 2005, 19.8 percent of Chesterfield eighth-graders reported that they had sniffed inhalants to get high at least once. In 2007, the same question got an affirmative from only 11.7 percent of eighth-graders. The national average in 2007 was 15.6 percent.

Reports of inhalant use in the 10th and 12th grades also dropped, she said.

Adolescents sometimes think that because inhalants are legal products, they won't cause harm. In reality, abuse of inhalants even once can be deadly, Adams said.

SAFE tackled the problem by teaching adults to recognize signs of inhalant abuse.

Police and rescue personnel were alerted to look for aerosol cans rolling around in a car as a potential indicator.

Parents were targeted in a media campaign and newsletter. School nurses and counselors at all schools attended training sessions. A pilot program at several schools trained everyone from custodians to teachers on what to look for and what to do if they found it.

Schools altered supply lists to eliminate items that can be abused. Solvent-based permanent markers were switched to water-based markers. Rubber cement was replaced by white glue.

Workshops stressed teaching children early about the dangers. Risks come not just from aerosols but from solvents such as paint thinner, gasoline and nail polish remover and from some liquid cleaning products.

"Just like we teach about poisons that you're not supposed to ingest, we teach about poisons that you're not supposed to breathe," Adams tells parents.

"Use products appropriately. Open the window. . . . They are safe the way they were meant to be used."

Parents are getting the message and passing it on.

"Even though we haven't started working directly with kids, we have found that adults are talking with kids and our numbers have gone down," Adams said.

SAFE also worked with the state Department of Education to develop a 97-page staff education manual and student curriculum guide to incorporate into lesson plans.

"It really has spawned a lot of activity," Frith said. "It's given us an opportunity to talk with some interesting and influential people."
Contact Katherine Calos at (804) 649-6433 or .