secondary school kids.

Children as young as eight and nine were abusing drugs and alcohol, Mrs.

Eugenie M. Simmons said.

And the drug of choice among school students was certainly no longer marijuana, but "highly addictive and relatively inexpensive'' crack cocaine.

"We have a serious, serious problem out there,'' she said. "I do not even have the luxury of being excited about the appointment. No one with a role in the NDC has any excitement when it comes to dealing with the substance abuse problem in Bermuda.'' The educator and community activist's overriding concern in helping to spearhead Government's anti-drugs crusade was: "To date, we still do not seem to be addressing substance abuse in a collective manner. Every single person in the community has a vital role to play.'' The spill-over effects of substance abuse by students included poor grades, violent behaviour and getting in trouble with the law, she said.

Mrs. Simmons has also had to deal with students' family environments, which often involved drug -- and physical abuse.

She described her new post as a "monumental challenge''.

But she felt her experiences in dealing with problem youngsters, drugs in the community and teaching prisoners had put her in good stead for the job.

"I think I understand what is involved in terms of trying to prevent substance abuse and examining what types of treatment are available,'' she said.

Drug and alcohol abuse was so "entrenched'' in the school system that school behaviour codes were expressly forbidding dealing and doing certain kinds of illegal drugs, she noted.

"I see the problem at all levels among the youth,'' she said. "And I've seen how much of a role substance abuse plays in incarceration.'' Mrs. Simmons said one of her first tasks was helping to staff NDC programmes.

She will also continue her efforts in setting up anti-drug community groups in at least every parish.

Mrs. Simmons helped oversee the successful St. David's Community in Action pilot project, which has been running since last November.

It involved the following of a "blueprint'' for anti-drug action groups which was modelled after a Jamaican programme.

While the NDC provided an easy-to-follow blueprint which aims to give the group the longest life possible, it was up to each group to implement its own actions and take charge, she said.

Community action groups did not only fight drugs by making their presence known and "chasing out the drug pushers'', she noted.

They also sought to find out the root causes of drug abuse in their communities. And they tried to help addicts and problem teenagers, incorporating PTAs and church groups.

There were currently four active anti-drug community groups, she said, the oldest and most successful being Friswell's Hill United.

Mrs. Simmons also wants to work to ensure more resources and manpower are directed towards rehabilitation centres.

She was named chief executive officer of the NDC this week by the chairman Mr.

Alastair Macdonald. The appointment was approved by Human Affairs Minister the Hon. Jerome Dill.

She leaves her job as Behavioural/Educational Therapist with the Education Department to take up the full-time position.

As a member of the National Drug Strategy interim steering committee, she was asked to help set up anti-drug community action groups around the Island.

After gaining her Master's in Special Education from Howard University, Mrs.

Simmons taught at Woodlands School, eventually becoming deputy principal.

She has also taught part-time at Casemates Prison.

Mrs. Simmons, the mother of one child, was the driving force behind setting up the community action group Sandys Against Drugs (SAD).

And she helped launch a job scheme for recovering addicts.