KIDS: PROJECT FIGHTS DRUG USE, ABUSE BEFORE IT STARTS

For a half hour each week, Jana Jateff talks with fourth-graders about self esteem and how to make good decisions.

Jateff is among the many Project Charlie volunteers who hope their visits will help children resist drug use.

Project Charlie (Chemical Abuse Resolution Lies in Education) is a drug abuse prevention program for elementary students. Nationally, the program began in 1976.

In Cape Girardeau and Jackson it started in 1985. Locally, Project Charlie is taught in second and fourth grades in public and parochial schools.

Jateff said the Project Charlie curriculum doesn't really focus on drug use and abuse.

"Studies show that kids who don't have good role models, have trouble choosing appropriate friends, struggle with peer pressure and have low self esteem, they are the ones who choose drug use," she said.

So Project Charlie attempts to address those factors leading to a decision to try drugs.

"We hit on self-esteem, proper decision-making skills and discourage the use of drugs," said Jateff.

The 30-minute Project Charlie lessons are led by trained volunteers.

A training session will be held Oct. 2-3 at St. Andrew Lutheran Church. On Friday, the class will be held from 12:30-4:30 p.m. and on Saturday the course will be taught from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

For information, call Jerre Hall at 334-9760 or Randon Grissom at 334-1023.

"We're looking for homemakers, professionals, students, anyone who has a concern that young people remain abstinent," Jateff said. "We ask them to spend 30 minutes a week in a classroom."

Jateff said the training gives volunteers an opportunity to see if they would enjoy facilitating Project Charlie.

Recently Procter & Gamble gave $1,000 to Project Charlie to purchase new manuals. "They are updated, more thorough, with better lesson plans," she said. "These new manuals really make the volunteers' jobs easier.

"We are all volunteers and have other jobs, so we don't have time to spend planning lessons."

Jateff is volunteering for the third year, this year working at Alma Schrader. "We just go where we are needed," she said.

"We desperately need volunteers in Jackson," Jateff said. "We are really in dire need there."

Project Charlie teachers work in pairs and follow pre-planned lessons from these manuals.

Jateff said Project Charlie facilitators need no teaching experience. "No creativity is required. The material is so good, it's really easy to follow."

The lesson plans include role playing, small group discussions, worksheets and other activities. "We have speakers come in from the police department or recovering alcohol and drug abusers," she said. "We play games and have a lot of fun, but it all has a point."

"Most of the time, the kids really look forward to us coming. When you meet the kids on the street, they will come up and give you a hug," Jateff said. "It's really fun."

Volunteers work with schools to set up a convenient time. Jateff said she visits the classroom at 8:30 a.m., before starting work. Other volunteers come during lunch hours or on their day off.

Project Charlie is led by a board of directors which meets once a month. Speakers are available for service clubs and civic organizations.

Jateff said: "The most important thing we try to emphasize is that the children are special, they are important, and the decision they make today may affect the rest of their lives."