Creek County Literacy Program Announces Launch of “Parents: You Matter” Program
New Program Designed to Increase Parents’ Understanding of Drug and Alcohol Issues
Today, Creek County Literacy Program announced the launch of a community education program designed to increase parents’ understanding and confidence in preventing and addressing drug and alcohol issues. The multimedia training program aims to educate parents of teens and tweens about why kids use drugs and alcohol. It includes information on what parents can do to protect their children and tips on how to communicate with their kids, monitor their activities, spot drug/alcohol use and what a parent should do when they find it.
The program, called “Parents: You Matter”, was created by The Partnership at Drugfree.org, and is designed to be co-delivered by a range of community presenters, from law enforcement, prevention and treatment professionals, as well as educators and healthcare professionals. “Parents: You Matter” engages parents and caring adults through awareness-building presentations delivered at local businesses and civic organizations, schools and parent groups.
Creek County Literacy Program and OSU Prevention have joined together to bring the “Parents: You Matter” program to Creek County. This presentation will be held at the Library Annex, 15 North Poplar Street in Sapulpa on Thursday, January 23 at 5:30pm. The presentation is free of charge.
“We are very excited to host this informative program,” shared Melissa Struttmann, Executive Director for Creek County Literacy Program. “We encourage parents and community organizations alike to attend.”
The presentation contains a number of videos, including public service announcements from The Partnership at Drugfree.org, first-person stories and information from numerous area experts. Drug-specific educational modules are also offered to allow presenters to customize the program to local needs, offering parents the most relevant information about the risks of drugs to their teens.
17% of adults in Creek County 18 years or older do not have a high school diploma, and 4% of adults in Creek County 18 years or older do not have a 9th grade education. More than 400,000 Oklahoma adults are functionally illiterate. The Mission of the Creek County Literacy Program is to encourage, educate and equip aspiring readers to overcome the barriers of illiteracy.
This free program is a health literacy outreach project of Creek County Literacy Program, the Oklahoma Department of Libraries, with funding provided by the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
For more information or to register for this free event, call 918-224-9647 or email info@creekliteracy.org.
Ninety percent of addictions start in the teenage years. The Partnership at Drugfree.org is dedicated to solving the problem of teen substance abuse. Together with experts in science, parenting and communications, the nonprofit translates research on teen behavior, addiction and treatment into useful and effective resources for both individuals and communities. If you or someone you know is struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, please call The Parents Toll-Free Helpline at 1-855-DRUGFREE.