Primary+Prevention+Programs+In+Ontario

__**Primary Prevention Programs In Ontario**__

There are many Primary Prevention programs held in Ontario to prevent future drug problems in youth and adults. Most are run by the Ontario Provincial Police or OPP such as Racing against Drugs, The D.A.R.E program and the Addictions Ontario. Because of the length of this assignment I will only be focusing on three primary prevention programs in Ontario.

Racing Against Drugs is a community based drug and alcohol awareness program. Racing Against Drugs has programs all around Ontario such as London and Whitby. Racing Against Drugs focuses on drug and alcohol awareness and prevention in children around the age group of children in grades five or six. The RAD Program was developed in partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the London District Catholic School Board, the Thames Valley District School Board, and the generous support of a variety of non-profit organizations.

A social service worker would fit into Racing Against Drugs nicely. A social service worker may help set up the presentation and could possibly share their input during the presentation, depending on their personal experiences with working with drugs or alcohol. A social service worker can help show the kids good values and promote excellence to them.



Another primary prevention program in Ontario as well as run by the OPP is the D.A.R.E program which stands for drug, abuse, resistance, and education. D.A.R.E’s mission is to “Teaching students good decision-making skills to help them lead safe and healthy lives” D.A.R.E wants to live in a world where everyone is empowered to respect others and choose to live lives free from violence, substance abuse, and other dangerous behaviours. D.A.R.E is a police officer led series of classroom lectures that teach youth from kindergarten all the way to grade 12 about living drug and violence free lives. They also teach kids to resist to peer pressure.

There are many different things that a social service worker could do at D.A.R.E, they could help the audience get into groups and help with the activities that the O.P.P have planned for their audience. A social service worker may also answer questions that the audience has about drugs or alcohol and help the O.P.P with their overall presentation.



Another Primary Prevention program is Addictions Ontario. Addictions Ontario or AO for short is a non profit organisation that provides information about drug abuse and addiction services. AO has been in existence for over forty years and provide early intervention, health prevention, promotion and treatment services. AO also has phone hotlines for drug and alcohol, gambling and mental health. AO provides help for all including youth and young addiction problems.

A social service worker could help in AO by sharing their knowledge of drugs and addictions with the online community and help manage AO’s website. They could also help by assisting AO members in their intervention, health, treatment and promotion services.

Matt Schroeder