Drug counseling in Blaine County
Project Respect plays key role
By KEVIN WISER
Express Staff Writer
Kevin Boender
Last month, many Wood River Valley residents expressed alarm over reports that the
DARE/PAL programs were in jeopardy due to a lack of funding. A rally in support of the
programs was mounted in Hailey.
As important as the D.A.R.E./PAL programs are in the eyes of
supporters, there is
another countywide juvenile substance abuse program which hasnt
received as much public and media attention"Project Respect."
Ironically, "Respect," too, is threatened by a funding crisis
and in need of revitalized community support.
Of the three programs, only "Project Respect," in operation
here for three years, provides counseling, intervention and treatment services aimed at
adolescents with drug and alcohol problems.
The programs future is in jeopardy, declared its director, Kevin
Boender, 42, a Wood River Valley native. The dilemma, he said, is both a lack of
government funding and community financial support.
"We do have some support from the county and city governments in
the Wood River Valley, but the program is still 60 to 70 percent under funded for the
remainder of this year and next year," he said in a recent interview.
For example, Boender said the county and the valleys cities have
committed approximately $45.000 to fund "Respect"less than half of the
programs needs.
"In the last two months," he said, "the program has
received $20,000 in private donations without which we would have had to close our
doors."
Boender acknowledged the efforts of the six-year-old D.A.R.E./PAL
programs, designed to deal with teen alcohol and drug abuse through prevention and
education methods. However, he said, "once kids start using drugs and alcohol on a
regular basis and get in too deep, they need treatment."
Boender, who had to overcome his own substance abuse problems, has
worked with youth here for nearly three years, counseling more than 140 young people.
"I talk with hundreds of kids every year," Boender said.
"What they tell me is that 90 percent are drinking alcohol, and I would venture to
say that 75 percent have smoked marijuana, the gateway substance to more dangerous drugs.
"If what the kids are telling me is true, its too late for
prevention [in many cases] and the punitive system takes over. Without treatment, kids can
ultimately end up in prison or worsedead. This is the reality of addiction and
public misperception. Substance abuse is a disease that requires treatment."
He said that teens often begin their alcohol and drug habits in search
of a thrill, persuaded by behavior of peers and adults that "alcohol and marijuana
are socially acceptable intoxicants."
Blaine County deputy sheriff Jim Cleveland, who is a D.A.R.E./PAL
liaison officer, agreed with Boenders view that Project Respect is a critical tool
in combating juvenile substance abuse problems in the county.
"You have to come at the problem from all
approachesprevention, education and treatment," Cleveland said. For his part,
Boender said he was encouraged by recent local support for D.A.R.E./PAL, and now would
like to see the same enthusiasm for "Respect."
"The community has identified the need to address the juvenile
substance abuse problem," Boender said. "But in order to do so the community
must acknowledge the fact that substance abuse, in its progressive stages, is a disease
that requires not only prevention but treatment. Its time for the community to
totally support the issue."
According to Boender, the No. 1 priority of "Project Respect"
is to treat young people on an out-patient basis free of charge.
"Without the support of the community we cant do that,"
he said.. "A lack of funding has us struggling just to stay in existence at this
point.
"We have helped kids, there have been successes and we want to
continue in this direction. But the program will not survive without community support.
"We are the only substance abuse treatment provider within 100
miles. Kids with substance abuse problems arent getting the help they need in this
community.
"Without treatment they get caught up in the cycle with little
hope for the future."
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In a Blaine County Youth Task Force survey conducted in 1996, people of
the Wood River Valley voiced concern about needs of the community. In this survey,
juvenile substance abuse was identified as the No. 1 problem that needed attention.
The following year a D.A.R.E./PAL survey, focusing on the Wood River
Valley. indicated prevalent drug and alcohol use among teens here.
According to the survey, approximately 82 percent of the countys
high school students experimented with alcohol and about 58 percent tried drugs. At the
time, both percentages were above state and national averages.
Reflecting on these figures, Project Respects Boender observed
that experimentation with drugs by youth often leads to addiction in ones adult
years. Its time for the community, he said, to confront the issue.
"Lets get down to basics," he said. "The
adolescent drug and alcohol problem is getting worse, not better. We have incredible
assets here for kids that I agree with and totally support, but none of them are
addressing substance abuse issues."
Boender said the community has always found ways to support and fund
youth programs, particularly in the recreation area; whats more, he noted, locals
liberally contribute to private causes, pointing to the $18 million raised to underwrite
the St. Lukes medical complex.
Yet, laments Boender, "the substance abuse problem among teens
here is on the rise. A growing number of our youth use drugs and alcohol at least weekly,
and many have become addicted on a daily basis.
"For us to really treat this problem, the community needs to come
forward and support [Project Respect] as it has in other areas. We have a generation
thats ultimately going to die if it doesnt get help."
Hailey Police Chief Jack Stoneback has been in law enforcement since
1963, 22 of those years in the Wood River Valley. Like his law enforcement counterparts
across the country, there are few challenges as daunting as drug trafficking and
addiction.
"The whole idea of Project Respect was to get help for kids and
provide local treatment for teens that have gone beyond prevention and education,"
Stoneback said.
Stoneback said substance abuse is a problem that effects the entire
community and that the solution must start with youngsters.
"A lot of people dont see the crime here," he said in
an interview. "In the big cities you see shootings on the news every day and graffiti
on buildings. Here people have a sense of being safe and secure, but the substance abuse
problem is brewing here with the kids.
"People dont see it or they tend to ignore it. If we
dont address the problem, one day this valley may not be a safe place."
Stoneback declared:
"Theres a couple hundred kids that desperately need
substance abuse treatment in Blaine County and a hell of a lot of kids that are at risk.
"The bottom line is the communities have got to do something, to
provide services and treatment for kids to get them over their substance abuse problems.
"Theres a lot of money here. You look around this valley and
see some of the things people donate time and money to. If they were to put the same
effort behind substance abuse it could make a big difference."