Group fighting to save DARE program

Jose Paul Corona

A group of residents whose sole purpose is to save the Drug Abuse

Resistance Education program from the chopping block is back in action.

As budget cuts loom once again, the drug education program is on the

City Council’s hit list for the second year in a row.

Going by a four-letter acronym like the program it hopes to save, the

Substance Abuse and Violence Education task force, or SAVE, is working

with residents, other nonprofit groups and the city to try and preserve

the program said, task force member Shirley Carey.

The group formed during the last budget year when they discovered that

the DARE program’s budget was set to be cut, Carey said.

“We came together because it certainly was a very serious budget

crisis,” she said.

At the June 17 City Council meeting the group gave the council a

progress report of its fund-raising activities.

The group has applied for a federal grant from the Office of Juvenile

Justice Delinquency Prevention for $100,000, said Huntington Beach Police

Department Sgt. Gary Meza.

The program is run by police officers who go into schools to talk to

students about the dangers of drugs and alcohol.

Members of the group also plan to meet with council members

individually to keep them updated on fund-raising efforts, Carey said.

Students, parents, teachers and school administrators have all been

involved in the process to try and think of ways to reduce the cost on

the program.

The group has also been meeting with the Huntington Beach Police

Department on a monthly basis to conduct focus group sessions. The

ultimate goal is to obtain some type corporate sponsorship, Carey said.

While the group knows that the program won’t prevent all children from

using drugs, Carey said she felt it does help many children.

“I do believe it impacts the lives of many children and their families

in a positive way,” she said, “No program is 100% but there is no

question that this has a positive impact.”