Drugs and alcohol campaign ‘should target primary schools’

PRIMARY school pupils should be targeted in a drugs and alcohol awareness and prevention campaign, it was claimed yesterday.

The ISPCC said drink and drugs are a fact of life for children nationwide, with all young people likely to come in contact with drugs at some point throughout their childhood.

The children’s charity is working with teenagers, some as young as 13 years, whose drug and alcohol abuse has had a devastating impact on them and their families.

Through its mentoring service, 4me, it is reaching out to those most likely to develop a dependency, young people who are socially isolated within their communities.

One of the service’s main targets is to prevent early school leaving.

“The ISPCC believes that drug and alcohol awareness and prevention needs to be introduced as an integrated component of both the educational system, and of parenting practice in general,” said Chanelle Carlin,

ISPCC east regional manager, adding that this could best be achieved, “through the introduction of a life skills programme at primary school level”.

Latest figures reveal that more than 3,000 teenagers participated in group and workshop 4me programmes in 2005, based on drug and alcohol awareness, self-esteem building, bullying, life skills or personal development programmes.

A further 62 are engaged in its one-to-one service, each having an average of 24 individual sessions of therapeutic counselling over a minimum period of six months within his or her own home.

And almost 70 young people joined its mentoring service, which provides young people with both a positive role model and an opportunity to engage in new activities.

“4me works to ensure that young people are given the necessary supports to enable them to participate constructively in the main social structures impacting on their lives,” Ms Carlin said.

The organisation claims there is need for a 24-hour service, however.

“It is unacceptable that the lead statutory agency responsible for the protection of children in this State remains a 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday operation,” added Ms Carlin.

“The need to access such services is usually greatest in the evenings, during the night and the weekends.”

The 4me service operates nationally from eight centres in Dublin, Drogheda, Monaghan, Castlebar, Galway, Limerick, Cork and Wexford.