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Santa Clarita Valley Drug Awareness Programs Encourage Students And Parents To Begin Education Early

Santa Clarita’s drug education program is looking to inform parents and students it’s never too early to begin drug education.


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Now, city officials are looking to expand and rebrand the organization as DFY (Drug Free Youth), at Tuesday’s City Council meeting — to not only look to increase impact but the curriculum to older elementary school kids in order to start the dialogue earlier.

“The whole program is about empowering students to make good choices and smart choices, and part of that is information,” according to Paul Lantis arts and events administrator for the city of Santa Clarita.

“For the older elementary kids, it’s simple awareness and education — nothing too heavy handed at that age,” said Lantis. “And then obvious in the junior high program, it gets a little more about how to say ‘no’.”

“The majority of addiction begins between 12-17 year olds, with some cases occurring as early as 10 years old or even younger,” said Bob Sharits of The Way Out Recovery in Santa Clarita.

“Parents should be talking to their kids. The younger the better. And you need to be having age appropriate conversations. As a child gets older and older, a parent can start becoming more direct and talk about the uglier side of addiction,” said Sharits.

The program has steadily grown since its inception. More than 10 percent of the William S. Hart Union High School District is involved, according to statistics provided by the city.

The program currently has nearly 3,000 junior and high school students signed up as club members in the SCV. The program finished had about 800 members at the end of its first school year in 2013.

The Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission now looks to expand the program to fourth, fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools.

In August 2012, the Santa Clarita Valley, in conjunction with the William S. Hart Union School District, the city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County officials, began a youth voluntary drug prevention and education program in Santa Clarita named DFYiT (Drug Free Youth in Town).

The organization’s mission statement is to educate and empower students to make good choices, leading towards positive and healthy behaviors, according to DFYiT’s website.

Since its inception, the curriculum has evolved to teach communication and lifelong skills to combat negative peer pressure, easy-to-remember strategies to say no, and understanding of over the counter drugs, prescription drugs, alcohol/binge drinking, inhalants, marijuana/smoking, and hard drugs, according to city officials.

If parents are looking for more information or assistance in discussing drug addiction with their children, click here.

Students can voluntarily sign-up for DFYiT anytime throughout the year. Students can obtain a membership form from a club meeting or the school’s DFYIT advisor and be amenable to voluntary drug testing. To learn more about DFYiT, visit their website here.

Expansion of DFYiT will be discussed at the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission’s regular meeting, on Thursday, May 4 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

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Santa Clarita Valley Drug Awareness Programs Encourage Students And Parents To Begin Education Early

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About Caleb Lunetta

Caleb has been a Santa Clarita resident for most of his life. After attending Hart High School, Caleb went on to study political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara along with College of the Canyons.