Every year more and more children are faced with the decision of whether or not to experiment with drugs and high school students are not the only ones at risk. According to the Parent Resource Institute for Drug Education (PRIDE) the average age at which youngsters are being introduced to drugs is now between 11 and 14.

So what can you as a level-headed youngster, or parent do to minimise this risk?

Grounding your children for life might sound like an attraction option, but PRIDE has a better idea: Lock-ins!

Every Friday night students and parents are invited to one of the Islands’ schools for an evening of fun, food and information. It was at one of these functions five years ago that Warwick Academy student Keishon Ming was first introduced to PRIDE.

“My friend told me how much fun they were and when I first went I wasn’t sure, but I knew it was a safe place to have fun so I thought I would give it a try,” the 15-year-old says with a smile.

“Lock-ins refers to the parents and children committing themselves for three-and-a-half hours to participate in the evening’s activities,” explains assistant youth programme co-ordinator, Samantha Smith. “Youth and adults are given the opportunity to discuss issues regarding drugs and alcohol and dialogue is encouraged in hopes that when they leave, they will have new courage and confidence that this subject can be discussed.”

Ms Smith elaborates that education is important, but even more important is information: “The more you know about drugs, the easier it will be to just say no.”

She adds that one of the reasons for the success of Lock-ins is that they enable adults and the youth to bond, learn and share things they might have felt uncomfortable discussing before.

Other youth programmes offered by PRIDE Bermuda includes Pride Pals, a foundation in prevention for Elementary School students, Club Pride which involved Middle School students in character and leadership development, teamwork, positive peer power and youth advocacy and Pride Youth to Youth (Y2Y) which involves High School students, including Keishon.

“By using information, education, personal growth, environmental change and drug-free fun strategies, Y2Y offers a positive peer setting of which the Youth Advisory Board (YAB) serves as the driving force behind the PRIDE Youth Programme,” Ms Smith says.

She explains that the main goal of YAB is to unify the PRIDE Bermuda Youth Programmes and to develop community outreach programmes that will benefit all of the Island’s youth.

Throughout the school year, students meet every Friday at the Bermuda College for an hour and use the four strategies to learn about the importance of being drug-free, as well as the important role they play in promoting prevention.

Meanwhile during the rest of the year, students also participate in Bridge Building and Training designed to provide students with various skills and leadership qualities, including effective planning, organisational and communication skills.

Project Manger Danielle Riviera adds a new youth team is being introduced this year - the Youth Advocacy Team - which will include senior and college-aged students.

However, she is quick to add that you are “never too old, or too young to belong to PRIDE,” and besides the youth programmes, PRIDE Bermuda also offers adult programmes including the Parent to Parent programme.

“This programme encourages positive attitudes, positive parenting skills and networking amongst participating parents and concerned adults,” she surmises.

This programme is available for businesses, community groups, schools, churches or anyone seeking answers to today’s challenging parenting roles.