Substance Abuse Prevention

Substance Abuse Prevention

BSHS/458

Substance Abuse Prevention

The county that I live in for which is Thurston County Public Health and Social Service that works with Thurston and Mason counties, has a great program and is always looking to find ways to improve the system with more resources and continuing to educated the community. For this to operate it takes manner that is efficient and effective with resources and revenues, by this it takes planning, coordination, implementations, and monitoring of the public funded chemical dependency prevention and treatment.

The Thurston county contracts with community agencies to provide services that address substance abuse prevention and addiction. Other services that are provided by the program include: Drug/ Alcohol outpatient treatment. (Adults and Youth) 24 hour telephone crisis Intervention, which gives information and referral within the community, also the following providers for treatment services in Thurston county are professional counseling BHR (Behavioral Health Resources) recovery services Damon (Gentile) counseling. There is a student assistance program Evergreen treatment services, south Sound clinic, Providence St Peters Chemical Dependency center and Sea Mar Community Health Centers. There are services that are available to low income and indigent clients for which includes people with no income or who receive state assistance for care and support services.

The North Thurston School District/ Washington State Department of Social and Health Services help support with awareness of substance abuse prevention with element and Jr. High D.A.R.E program (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education). There is a program for parents to get a head start called (Partnership for drug-Free kids) it can educate and help with questions and guide with support for families with children under the influence or if a parent may think there son or daughter maybe.

Under the State Legislature WAC 181-87-055 the policy of Alcohol or controlled substance abuse is also written in school and business policy as Initials of unprofessional conduct that would include ethics of policy that regulates of executive branches agencies are issued by authority statutes. Legislation and the constitution regulation are a source of primary law in Washington State. The WAC codifies regulations by subject or agency, The WAC is updated twice a month.

I believe that Thurston and Manson county Social Health Services have much to support within the community and other counties within Washington State. The question is does it help I would like to believe so, but there are so many that fall into the cracks with the system of things. We need more social workers, social worker that can relate and understand to situations and knowing or even keeping up with resources and new resources. As with the school district the counselors are always in training for it is a required so that they are informed with policies and resources, especially when parents don’t know where to go or what to ask. I was one of those parents that did so. My youngest son let’s say his life had turned up sided down this one year His father and I were separated and he did not agree on the separation, he started skipping classes, and his behavior was out of character. I went to the school and talked to his counselor and the principle about my concerns and what should I do. I was advised of the resources that were in our community, to where I can receive help and support at the same time I was seeing a counselor for myself and had told him what has been going on, he to advised me in a program that was in our community just as the school offered, but I had to see if we were qualified for this. It was called “Youth at Risk Program” When I learned more about this I thought this would be great, but my youngest refused. Few weeks later my son was under the substance and I hate bring this up came after me with a butcher knife and threaten to kill me, running around the house after me. He put the knife back in the kitchen when he knew I locked myself in my bedroom and called 911. I quietly walked out of my bed room and got all the sharp utensils away and put them in my room with door locked, again he heard me and went back into the kitchen to get an object and non were there, so he destroyed things in my dining room and living room by throwing furniture. I will say I was scared, for my life, at the time I worked with community protection client CP stage 3 for which I was always on guard, but this is my son my family all too different. Copes came and took him to jail JV jail he was there for a month and then court came up, sadly to say he did not know why or what happened for him to be there. He thought I was making this up. He was on court order to be in Youth at risk and counseling, and seeing his PO every other day in person but in contact with him every day. When it came to school he was not to miss a day, and needed to report to his counselor before and after school and attend all classes, if not school would call his PO, and which I may add his PO came to the school every so often. It was a good support group, but the counseling he did not go through, he did not like the counselor and felt he was asking too many question that did not need to be talked about. We even tried 2 other different counselors, but did not want to talk. Sense his dad was in AA he went with him to hear others, as a result learned were it led many to where they used to be and were they are now. But that only went on for a few weeks. Sense my son was a senior in high school he had to do some volunteer work and he did so with “Boys and Girls club” He so at first did not like it, but came to a trust with an older person their somehow there was a connection, a trust and understanding. My son volunteered for an extra 2 years after he graduated high school. Long story short, my son has excelled, is my son I once knew and what he would become. So the programs do work if you know the resources and were to go, even if you don’t someone is bound to stair you in the direction were one can start, but it take commitment, never give up, there is hope and many success stories from the many programs that are here in our community.