When her brother became addicted to drugs more than 30 years ago, Judith Burgess was at a loss for how to help — Bermuda did not talk about drugs.

As the addiction claimed his life, Ms Burgess vowed to make a difference and founded Pride Bermuda with Wendy Lambert, Dianna Corday and Vaughn Harvey.

The anti-drug charity is now celebrating three decades of educating and empowering youth to make healthy lifestyle choices regarding drugs and alcohol.

“Thirty years ago, Bermuda was saying we had no drug problem,” Ms Burgess, the charity’s executive director, told The Royal Gazette.

It was only after they attended a Pride World Drug Conference in the United States that they realised the extent of what could be happening in Bermuda.

“I felt that I was not there to be able to help or guide when it came to drugs because we didn’t talk about drugs 30 years ago.

“But there was my brother and he was caught in a trap. There were limited services or awareness to be able to help him at that time.”

Ms Burgess vowed to teach every child she came in contact with about value and self-worth and the impact drugs can have.

Having seen the effects herself, she hoped to make a difference in one person’s life and set out with Pride to educate parents.

The charity now reaches more than 700 schoolchildren yearly through its Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies and LifeSkills programmes.

It teaches students core skills to make healthy lifestyle choices, including resisting peer pressure, developing self-esteem, coping with anxiety and making informed decisions.

“We work at trying to put those protective factors in place because that’s what is going to help them succeed and to manoeuvre their way through the school-age years to the point where they can be responsible enough to make the right decisions,” she said.

Pride Bermuda was also instrumental in founding the Bermuda Coalition — a consortium of organisations tackling antisocial behaviour, violence and substance abuse.

“I am in awe of us reaching this 30th,” Ms Burgess said. “I am so grateful to the donors and the sponsors, volunteers and our valuable board of governors because we couldn’t do what we do without their help and support.

“There’s a lot of heartache that has come out of drugs. Myself included have all been impacted in some way by the scourge of drug use.

“You think that if you live in the right part of the community, you send your children to the right schools, it’s not going to touch you — that is such a myth. It can just reach in without your knowledge.

Ms Burgess came to Pride from a business background. She made the leap to working with youth “with great trepidation”.

“Dealing with young people’s lives is crucial, especially when you start working with them at such a young age. We want to know that everything we do is going to impact them positively and for the future.

For Ms Burgess, success lies in seeing how far her students and alumni have come because “unlike a business you can’t look at the bottom line and say you’ve been profitable”.

“I can name so many young people that I know that are doing well. I’m not saying that Pride did it all. But, because I know that we played a part in it, that’s my bottom line.”

But there is always more work to do.

The Bermuda Coalition, which Ms Burgess chairs, has just teamed up with Cada to launch an initiative aimed at tackling underage drinking.

“We have engaged with the Department of Health, the police, the EMTs and the Department for National Drug Control to bring this to the forefront of our community and look at educating them around what is happening with the use of alcohol,” Ms Burgess said. A town-hall meeting on the subject will be held tomorrow in Hamilton’s Argus Building at 5.45pm.

Ms Burgess added: “We will also be partnering with the Department of Education to increase the scope of our programmes in the schools.”

But, she also stressed the need for parents to get involved and support the programmes.

“The best thing that we can do is to role model how we would want others to live. I was not able to help my brother, but I hope that I’ve been able to help others.

“As individuals, we need to look at where we are, not to be judgmental but to ensure that we have some say in the lives of others.

“We all have to play a part. Don’t be afraid of the conversation. Get information. If you don’t have any, call the Pride office.”

•For more information, contact Pride on 295-9970.