Life Skills SuccessA set of programmes aimed at helping young children resist drugs and alcohol could be cut back in the coming school year.More than 700 children took part in lifeskills programmes offered by PRIDE Bermuda this year.There is concern however, that cutbacks might prevent the scheme from continuingDue to the economic downturn, there’s concern funding for an important set of programmes that address the social needs of the Island’s school children may not be expanded and worse, may even be cut back.More than 700 local children took part in lifeskills programmes offered by PRIDE Bermuda this year. And all have been considered a great success by evaluators of the programme.Truell Landy, Programme Director for PRIDE Bermuda, a youth charity that aims to prepare youth to resist drugs and alcohol and make positive life decisions, said she is hopeful the programmes will expand to include more schools in the next school year. But Ms Landy also made it clear that she is concerned about the programmes continuing in schools where they are already established.“We are excited about the success of the programmes and pending funding we will continue them,” she said.Thirteen Island schools ran the programme this year, four of them as what PRIDE calls “contracted services”. In these cases the programme is run as part of the school curriculum and funded by the school itself (in the case of public schools, from the Ministry of Education).Ms Landy revealed that due to the economic climate, these are the programmes she is concerned could be in jeopardy.In most schools the programme is run as an extracurricular activity in PRIDE Clubs. In these cases the lessons take place during the lunch break or after school. Funding for the PRIDE Clubs comes from the National Drug Control Department.Cornell University psychology professor Dr Gilbert Botvin designed the lifeskills programmes PRIDE run.“All the programmes PRIDE now use are evidence and research based,” said Ms Landy. “We make sure we can test the outcomes so that we know if we are meeting our goals,” she added.And the goals of these programmes are not only to have the children recognise that drugs and alcohol are dangerous, but also to help them in their overall social and self-development.It is offered at the primary, middle and high school levels. The last school year saw 780 children take part, 315 from primary schools, 376 at middle schools and 89 at two high schools Bermuda High School for Girls and CedarBridge Academy.The programme involves a lot of role-playing and lots of open and frank discussion. It teaches students how to manage their anger, how to make decisions, build their self esteem and be considerate of others. Students are also coached on relaxation techniques and ways to reduce and manage their anxiety.“The programme also has a component which teaches students how to refuse negative behaviours and anti-social behaviours,” said Ms Landy. “We teach them how to think analytically. We help them use information they have to make decisions and set goals.”And it’s by building these attributes in local children, that PRIDE believes and hopes it will help turn around not only drug abuse but also attitudes to drug and alcohol use generally.“We give them information on drugs, not so much what drugs do to the body,” said Ms Landy. “Because of the personal skills we are helping them to cultivate, they come to recognise the impact drug use now can make on their future plans, how it will affect their goals.“The programme helps them to process information and make choices based on knowledge,” she added.The programme is specially designed to cater to each of the three school levels. Ms Landy said work at the primary level is physically active while at the middle and high school levels, students engage a lot more in dialogue.“The premise of the programme at the middle and high school levels, is that children learn a lot from their peers,” she said. “Teenagers lean more towards their peers and so having an adult facilitate their discussion helps them greatly.”Ms Landy said students are honest and gain real insight from these discussions.“For example in discussions around marijuana use we’ve had boys saying they do it to be cool, and girls in the group telling them that they don’t think it’s cool it all. They tell them: ‘I really don’t like it when you come around blowing smoke in my face and the way you act when you’ve been smoking,” she said.In fact Ms Landy said the decision-making sections of the programme where these skills are practiced, are the most favoured of students.“We feel developing this skill has really empowered a lot of children,” she said. “We give them a model they can use.”And she said feedback from facilitators conducting the programmes is that the students are putting into practice the skills they’ve learned.It’s clear because this year the facilitators of PRIDE Clubs, where the programme is taught afterschool or in the lunch-break are school staff.“So they see the students throughout the day and that’s what they’ve been noticing,” said Ms Landy.And the evaluating PRIDE does on the programmes is also promising.“All the programmes have been successful,” said Ms Landy. “We have three outcomes that we are looking for:“1. Students will increase their drug and life skills knowledge.“2. Students will be able to demonstrate use of life skills, and“3. Students will have an anti-drug attitude rather than pro-drug attitude,” she said.Students are tested before the start of the programme and at the end, on their knowledge of drugs, their attitude towards drugs and alcohol and their life skills. Reports for each of the 13 participating schools showed that overall each of the three outcomes were met.“It will take years to change attitudes around drug and alcohol use in Bermuda for our youth,” said Ms Landy “but we are encouraged with the work we are doing and the results we are seeing.”